In September 2020, Mapal introduced a product range tailored to the needs of the die & mould sector. By offering an integrated programme, the company offers a comprehensive offer for tool and mould makers from one source.

Germany — Supplier of CAD/CAM software components, Module Works, and Robotized, supplier of CNC and robotic manufacturing solutions, have extended their partnership to offer customized, automated solutions that accelerate robot-assisted additive manufacturing, including CMT (Cold Metal Transfer).

Global manufacturing leaders move beyond prototyping to fully embrace 3D printing for series production. Printers are getting faster, can produce bigger parts and create reproducible qualities. What are the latest developments?

UK — Ilkeston-based subcontract manufacturer HPC Services has to handle a diverse workload and serves a variety of sectors. To meet this varying demand, the company relies on flexible turning centres for the machining of prismatic parts.

UK — NC programming errors can prove to be costly, if they result in damage to raw and completed material, the cutting tools or workholding system. While everyone involved with CNC machining understands the importance of checking and verifying the machining process before applying a cutting tool to the raw material, you should consider what are you really checking? More importantly what are you missing?

Software manufacturer CoreTechnologie presented version 1.3 of its 4D_Additive software in May 2021. The 3D printing tool, which is equipped with new functions, is specifically dedicated to the current processes and higher requirements of small batch production of 3D printed parts.

In times of travel restrictions online tool ordering, services and training are gaining in importance. How do suppliers react to this demand? ETMM presents some of the current developments that make tool ordering faster and easier and support training efforts.

UK — In response to demand for lateral flow testing devices, Günther Hot Runner Systems, Amies Innovation and RDMS joined forces, producing eight impression tools in five weeks followed by two 32 cavity moulds in just ten weeks.

Standardised high-quality mould units provide a reliable basis for modern mould- and toolmaking. This was reason enough for Schoform, a German mould and toolmaking company based in eastern Saxony, to opt for standard mould units from Hasco for the last 20 years. The latest example is a 32-cavity hot runner mould, for which Hasco supplied the complete, ready-to-assemble “hot half” as well as most of the associated standardised components.

Germany — For some time, the management team at SD Formentechnik, based in Lüdenscheid, has been thinking in terms of networked process chains. When it came to electrical discharge machining, this mould maker called on Zimmer & Kreim: The Chameleon and the Alphamoduli workshop software integrate the erosion systems, as well as a machining centre for electrode milling and the measuring machine.