Ireland - Replacing some electric discharge machining processes by high-speed cutting has cut an Irish toolmaker's mould lead-times by up to 20% to typically 14 weeks. Two machines have been automated with pallet changers so that they can be operated around the clock, unmanned at night.

Plastic Service GmbH (PSG) is marking its 50th anniversary this year. Founded in Mannheim in 1962, the company established itself in the market with the Fuchslocher shutoff nozzle for injection moulding machines and the Rohlf controller, the first electronic temperature controller, and brought innovative US-developed plastics-processing products and technologies to Europe.

Uddeholms AB has introduced Uddeholm RoyAlloy stainless holder steel as a replacement for its Uddeholm Ramax LH steel grade. RoyAlloy, originally developed by Edro Specialty Steels Inc., is now formally an Uddeholm product within the Uddeholm Stainless Concept portfolio, distributed exclusively worldwide. It is a prehardened corrosion-resistant steel specifically designed for the construction of long-lasting high-performance plastic-injection-mould bases.

The APos series of high-speed EDM drilling machines from Heun GmbH offers high performance in metal processing for mould and tool making, machine and workholding-tool construction and other applications. Small-hole drilling via electrical discharge machining is employed in situations where removing material by mechanical machining methods is not efficient or even possible.

The automotive and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors requiring graphite moulds for glass end products and graphite electrodes present distinct challenges in terms of surface finish, precision, process reliability and productivity.

Denmark - Companies with high outputs need smooth and reliable mould action. When manufacturing billions of parts during long production runs, reducing wear and increasing lifespan of moulds is key. This makes Diamond-like Carbon an interesting proposition for the coating of moving parts.

Additive Manufacturing - Applying foaming technologies in the injection moulding process usually means compromises in the surface quality. A special structure in the casting forms enables systematical heating and cooling. This geometry can be realised via additive laser melting.

The die and mould sector has progressed by leaps and bounds since the turn of the millennium. The factors behind the advances are diverse, but their effects have changed shops around the world, from the biggest OEMs to the smallest family companies.

Cornwall-based Pharmaceutical company West Pharmaceutical Services developes pharmaceutical packaging components. For their moulds, they recently acquired grinders by Jones and Shipman for the surface treatment of their high grade stainless steel moulds.

The Italian machine tool market has seen stark declines in recent years, but that hasn't stopped one company there from expanding. Based in Milan, FFG Europe first bought a number of Italian producers and then pushed into Germany, where it’s still on the hunt.