Top 10 Blog Posts of the Year

 

What better way to end the year on this blog than to rank the top blog posts of 2015, so you can see what topics hit home the hardest.

1. 1. The Designer's Edge: Newsflash on Flash Flash is impossible to have if three conditions are met--two of which fall directly on the mold.
2. 2. Get Schooled on Mold Material Selection The evolution of pre-hardened mold steels was discussed in a webinar and audience members learned how choosing the right steel can save time and money, new pre-hard materials are easier to machine, weld, and do not require stress relieving, there are better P20 steels on the market today, why go through the cost of heat treating a steel, when the production quantities justify using a pre-hard and  can you find the weld? Nak 55 and Nak 80 offer people no evidence that the part was welded. 
3. 3. What Matters Most? What matters most is what you do with the time you have here on this earth, and Amber Zapatka spent her time here with us making a difference in many lives. So, it is with a sad heart that I share the news of Amber’s tragic passing last week.  She was one of the rising stars in manufacturing, which was evident during the making of our MoldMaking Matters video late last year.
4. 4. The Designer's Edge: More on Venting There are industry specs for vent depth in relation to the plastic material being used. These specs are a starting point, but dependent upon the process, flow lengths, wall stock and part design.
5. 5. The Designer's Edge: Plastic Part Sticking, Part 3 Most of you have experienced issues with a plastic part sticking in the cavity (cover half), core (ejector half), lifters, slides or ejector pins, and a typical response is to polish or add undercuts. However, if you understand how materials react to certain surface finishes and temperatures a more robust solution is possible. 
6. 6. Best Practices for Mold Cleaning Toolrooms across the globe are faced with mold dilemnas that can often be avoided with a little TLC, namely proper mold cleaning. I came across some very useful mold cleaning tips from Slide Products that I'd like to share.
7. 7. The Meaning of the Five "M's" Man, material, machines, methods and metrics. What does this refer to? A suite of technologies, hardware, software and services focused on returning leaked profit to a company's bottom line.
8. 8. Barrel Cutters Going Mainstream? If CAM developer Open Mind gets its way, tools commonly used to finish contoured mold surfaces will soon have some competition. Compared to the ever-popular ball mill, barrel cutters offer longer tool life, shorter cycle times and smoother surfaces.
9. 9. The Designer's Edge: Venting Shut-off Details When you have part geometry details in the cavity, slide or lifters that are in the solid, and there is no component available to which you can add venting, there are still options. When there is a shut-off, you can add a hole through the shut-off to atmosphere. Then lighten up the shut-off, so it is open like a vent.
10. 10. Cooling Time Becomes Productive At first glance, they typically don't look much different than stack tools. However, molds like the one shown above offer more than the possibility to produce multiple parts in one cycle. They can often produce whole families of parts faster and on a smaller press than their more familiar cousins.