Mold manufacturing has become an integral part of modern manufacturing processes and prototyping. It is impossible and very costly to establish small-scale production of products today without a mold.

The mold is

Press form – a high-tech and complex device used to create products from metal, plastic, polymers, rubber by casting or extrusion.

Mold making is carried out on the basis of the technological process – injection molding. When starting mass production of products, molds are a necessity today.

Component parts of the mold

  1. Matrix – a static element of the mold responsible for the design of the outer surface of the product. The matrix is connected to the channel, where the material is fed under pressure.
  2. Punch – the moving part of the device, which is responsible for the inner surface of the product and pressure. It is from the punch that the finished product model is removed.
  3. Forming cavity – the empty space inside the mold itself, which exactly repeats the geometry of the device, this is the part of the device into which the material is supplied under pressure.
  4. Parting line – the area of connection between the punch and the matrix. The parting line can be represented by a single plane. In more complex molds, the plane can be divided into several parts, depending on the complexity of the punch and die configuration.

Types of molds

Depending on the purpose, the mold is divided into:

  1. For mass production … Such forms are made of very strong metals, and therefore retain their properties for a long time during mass production. They are quite expensive. Metal molds are suitable for high pressure casting.
  2. For small batch production … If the mold is planned to be used for small-scale production, then the material for its manufacture can be silicone, wood, polyurethane, plastic, aluminum, acrylic, etc. It all depends on the type of product for the production of which the form will be used.

Depending on the material from which the products will be cast, such types of molds are distinguished: molds for casting glass, plastics, metals, rubber, polymers, Silicone forms.

Stages of creating a mold

Stage 1 building a 3d model of a product based on such graphic products as 3DMAX, ProEngineering, SolidWork.
Stage 2 – 3D visualization – the creation of a 3D render to coordinate the shape, material, color of the future product;
Stage 3 – production of a prototype – creation of a 3d model of the product for making final corrections to the mold;
Stage 4 – production of a mold, by printing on a 3D printer, 3D milling or engraving;
Stage 5 – correction of the manufactured form using a CNC milling machine.
6 stage – serial production of products and quality control of the created mold.

Advantages of using molds

The main advantages of using molds include:

  1. Waste-free production … Waste of consumables is reduced to zero. In the manufacture of products using forms, the product material is carefully poured into it, filling the form. At the end of the polymerization process, the finished product is already removed from the mold.
  2. High performance … The process of making a new product takes significantly less time than traditional processing of materials using grinding and cutting tools.
  3. No need for processing equipment … Mold-based finished products do not require post-processing of the surface, edges and edges.

The main disadvantages of the production and use of molds – this is the high cost of making a mold and a long time to create it. These shortcomings often call into question the advisability of using molds in the production of small batches of products. However, for the mass production of specific and complex parts, where the main factor of production is time, molds are simply irreplaceable.

KLONA company – this is mold design and production of molds in Kharkov, arranges your small-scale production. Our experts will select for you the most profitable option for the implementation of the project, regardless of whether it is the creation of a single copy or the production of a whole batch of products.