Finding the Best Aluminum Injection Molds
If you are looking for an aluminum injection molding company in China, you are recommended to read this article.
Molders and mold-makers in China, nowadays, are using aluminum as an alternative to the traditional tool steels. Every aluminum injection molder has its tooling standards that will fundamentally drive the design and the cost of the tool in general.
Aluminum injection mold comes with some benefits which include:
- It cools faster than tool steels
- Aluminum injection mold reduces cycle times
- It is not difficult to cut
- Reduces expenses at the OEM level
- Increase molding productivity with better-finished part stability
Aluminum injection mold plate will facilitate quick molds for swift market entry, quick change manufacturing mold inserts and boutique-style molds for niche requirements. Tooling lead time will be greatly improved with aluminum injection mold material, and production molds will be made in a few hours or days rather than weeks and months.
How to build an aluminum injection mold?
- The first step is to choose whether the mold will be an all-aluminum mold base with a cavity and core cut in the A and B halves.
- Alternatively, if it will be aluminum injections for a steel-mold base.
- Or steel injections for aluminum mold base
Determining the aluminum injection mold size
When sizing the cavity and core into the injection mold, it is very important to maintain two times the square inch area of the impression. For instance, a 36 square inch mold impression will need to be in at least 72.25 square inch block. Ample sizing in the width, depth and length will allow for better heat dissipation and a shorter cycle time in due course.
When laying out of your tool, ensure that the sprue relationship and the mold impression have centered the mold base between the platens to reduce chances of over clamping that can even cause the mold to crush. Additionally, there are not hot spots with aluminum mainly because it has 4 to 5 times better thermal conductivity than any other metal, so the number and position of water lines are less critical than steel. This will allow for placement of extra ejector pins where necessary.
Machining
When machining aluminum, it is important to use cutters with the correct relief and rake angle that runs at a high speed to produce a near-polished, machined surface. The use of accurate coolant, which is specifically designed for aluminum, is also very important when machining aluminum because coolant will help reduce staining and will eliminate pitting.
Aluminum injection molds in China are used as a great fit for the low volume or short run projects. A high-volume production mold should also be considered. You must either work close with a resource that can help you to understand the appropriate processing parameters or go to a knowledgeable store, but always go for a high-quality engineered product to avoid problems.
If you are looking for Aluminum Prototyping Companies, the author of this article recommends HLH Prototypes.