While the image of packaging is currently divided, the fact remains that it is still a large part of the injection moulding industry. As a matter of fact, it makes up the largest portion in both the French and Italian industry.

The digital networking of man and machine in the age of artificial intelligence will be the focus of Hannover Messe 2019. Highlights are presented in the six line-up feature of the trade fair.

A company specialising in industrial rubber injection moulds and cold runner blocks for the automotive sector uses WorkNC to create 3+2 axis toolpath programs across a range of eight CNC machine tools as well as Workplan to consolidate information ranging from sales orders to invoices.

For customers facing frequent tools changes, a German supplier said it has developed an end mill able to realise five operations: drilling, ramping, slotting, roughing and finishing.

Motor spindles are an essential part of machining centres. The correct spindle enables users to master a wide range of applications, from delicate finishing operations to heavy-duty roughing. Last year, Swiss spindle-manufacturer Step-Tec has presented its product portfolio at EMO 2017 in Hanover.

At the EMO trade fair in Hanover, LMT Tools is expanding its product portfolio with a number of innovations for milling, threading and gear cutting. Users from the automotive, aerospace, energy technology, ­mechanical engineering, medical technology and mould and die-making industries receive new solutions to increase productivity in their individual machining applications.

MHT GmbH Merz & Haag from Schramberg in the Black Forest offers a self-developed medium distributor that is said to make milling faster, better and cheaper.

The SX-50 drilling machine from Sarix targets a range of applications, including micro-moulds, according to the supplier.

They say only a poor workman blames his tools, but selecting the proper ones isn’t always that easy. Cutting tool suppler Seco Tools (UK) Ltd offers a few tips for die and mould shops.

In contrast to high-speed milling, electrical discharge machining (EDM) is nowadays often considered a complementary technology for mould making. ILMA Plastica, an Italian manufacturer of injection tools, is using both techniques to improve its efficiency.