Continuously improve EDM's efficiency, degree of automation, and processed surface integrity;
EDM equipment precision and large-scale;
EDM equipment processing stability, easy operation and excellent cost performance;
Meet the different requirements of energy-efficient and anti-electrolysis and other new types of pulse power supply R & D, power waveform detection and processing and control technology development;
Development of high-performance integrated technical expert system and continuous development of EDM intelligent technology and further development of adaptive control, fuzzy control, multi-axis linkage control, automatic electrode exchange, automatic double-line switching, anti-electrolytic action, and discharge energy distribution Development of mirror bright processing technology such as mixed powder processing;
The development of micro-EDM technology, including three-dimensional fine-grained CNC EDM milling and micro-EDM grinding and micro-EDM technology;
The use of artificial intelligence technology in WEDM, the advancement of wire walking systems and threading technology;
EDM milling technology and machine tools and EDM machining centers (including molding machines and wire cutters) will be developed;
As a sustainable development strategy, green EDM technology is an important development trend in the future.
The biggest competitive factor in the future of rapid prototyping (RPM) and rapid tooling (RT) technology is how to quickly produce the molds that users need. RPM technology can be used directly or indirectly for RT. The goal of rapid metal mold manufacturing technology is to directly manufacture high-precision durable metal molds that can be used in industrial production. The key technology of indirect method is to develop short process technology, reduce precision loss, low-cost lamination and integration of surface finishing technology. The combination of RPM technology and RT technology will be the direction for further development of traditional rapid molding techniques (such as medium and low melting point alloy casting, spray coating, electroforming, precision casting, lamination, rubber casting, etc.). The combination of RPM technology and ceramic precision casting provides a new way for mold cavity casting. Using RPM/RT technology, from the conceptual design of the mold to the completion of manufacturing, it is only 1/3 of the time required for traditional processing methods and about 1/4 of the cost, and has broad prospects for development. To further improve the competitiveness of RT technology, it is necessary to develop data and process data to generate a direct and rapid method of manufacturing a metal mold that is easier, higher in accuracy, smaller in size, and smaller in material.
Ultra-precision machining, micro-fabrication, and composite machining technologies are being developed in the direction of precision and large-sized molds, and super-precision machining, micro-machining, and current-collecting, chemical, ultrasonic, and laser technologies will be developed. At present, ultra-precision machining has reached a submicron level stably, and nano-precision ultra-precision machining technology has also been applied to production. Electromachining, electrochemical machining, beam processing and other processing technologies have become an important part of microfabrication technology. It is more useful for foreign countries to produce nanoscale plastic molds with radiation waves with a wavelength of only 0.5 nanometers. Combining laser milling and high-speed milling on a single machine has resulted in new developments in mold processing technology.
Advanced surface treatment technology The mold heat treatment and surface treatment are the keys to the full use of mold material properties. Vacuum heat treatment, cryogenic treatment, vapor deposition (TiN, TiC, etc.) including PVD and CVD technology, ion infiltration, plasma spray and TRD surface treatment technology, diamond-like thin film coating technology, high wear-resistant and high-precision processing technology, non-stick surface Processing and other technologies have been applied in mold manufacturing and have shown good development prospects. The laser heat treatment, welding, strengthening and repairing techniques of the mold surface and other mold surface strengthening and repairing technologies will also receive more attention.
Grinding and Polishing of Mould Grinding and Polishing Moulds are still mainly hand-based, with low efficiency, high labor intensity, and unstable quality. China has introduced a CNC grinding machine that can realize the automatic polishing of three-dimensional surface molds, and the self-researching humanoid intelligent automatic polishing technology has achieved certain results. However, it has few applications at present and is expected to be developed. The future should continue to pay attention to the development of special grinding and polishing technologies, such as extrusion honing, laser honing and polishing, spark erosion, electrochemical polishing, ultrasonic polishing, and composite polishing technology and process equipment.
The mold making technology includes design and processing. This article analyzes the technical development direction of the Chinese mold industry from these two aspects. The article first pointed out that CAD/CAE, CAPP, and KBE are the main trends in mold design technology; then it discusses the development direction of mold processing technologies, such as high-speed milling, EDM, rapid prototyping, and rapid mode. Finally, the future of the comprehensive technology of mold making was analyzed.
From a technical point of view, mold manufacturing (including design and machining) technology can be broadly divided into five stages of development: manual operation, manual operation plus mechanization (general-purpose machine tools and tools), digital control, computerization, and CAD / CAE/CAM information network technology integration stage.
China has a vast territory, a large number of mold manufacturing companies, and varying levels of technological development. Each phase coexists at the same time. However, at present, it is mainly in the digital control phase. Some key enterprises have developed to a computerized stage. But at the same time, many companies still remain at the stage of manual operation and mechanization. The stage of purely manual operation has basically become history, and the integration stage of CAD/CAE/CAM information network technology has begun to take shape. For most mold manufacturing companies, the future direction of development should be mainly to improve the level of numerical control and computerization, and actively adopt high technology, and gradually move toward CAD/CAE/CAM information network technology integration. The paperless manufacturing of the mold will gradually replace the traditional design and processing.
The development direction of mold design technology Mold design has long depended on human experience and mechanical drawing. Since the development of computer-aided design (CAD) technology for molds in the 1980s, this technology has been recognized and quickly developed. The computer-aided engineering analysis (CAE) technology developed in the 1990s is now also used by many companies. It has a significant effect on shortening the mold manufacturing cycle and improving the mold quality. The CAD technology applied by mold enterprises in some industrialized countries has evolved from two-dimensional design to three-dimensional design, and the three-dimensional design has reached more than 70%. Most companies in China still stay at the level of two-dimensional design, and less than 20% of companies are capable of three-dimensional design. The application of CAE software in foreign countries has become more common, and domestic applications are still relatively small. The level of defects that may occur in the prediction of parts forming process is still relatively low.
Mold design technology and CAD and CAE software should be improved in the following aspects in the future:
Mold design database and knowledge base system;
Mold engineering planning and design;
Reasonable selection of mold materials and standard parts;
Mold rigidity, strength, flow path and cooling path design;
Various simulations of plastic mould plastic forming processes (injection moulding, including plastic mould filling, holding pressure, cooling, warpage, shrinkage, fiber orientation, etc.), analysis of heat conduction and cooling processes, solidification and structural stress analysis. It is very complicated and time-consuming to calculate the distribution of pressure field, temperature field, velocity field, shear strain rate field and shear stress field of casting system and cavity. This simulation technology has evolved from mid-stream technology to double-sided flow technology. It will soon be possible to develop both accurate and fast physical flow technologies and produce three-dimensional injection molding flow simulation software that meets the requirements for the virtual manufacturing of plastic parts.
Simulation, wrinkling and fracture analysis, stress strain and springback analysis of the metal forming process of the die;
Die-casting die-casting forming flow simulation, heat conduction and solidification analysis;
Forging die forging process simulation and metal flow and filling analysis;
Improve the rapidity, intelligence, and integration of design and analysis software, and enhance their functionality to accommodate the continuous development of molds.
In addition to the mold CAD/CAE technology, the mold process design is also very important. Computer-aided process design (CAPP) technology has begun to be applied in Chinese mold enterprises. Since most of the molds are single-piece production, the process specifications are different from those of mass production. Therefore, it is difficult to apply CAPP technology, and it is difficult to have CAPP software suitable for various molds and different mold companies. In order to better use CAPP technology, mold companies must do a good job in development and research. Although CAPP technology is more difficult to apply and promote than CAD and CAE, it must also pay attention to this direction.
Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) technology is an important tool for the automation of modern design decisions. It has become an important way to promote the intelligent design of engineering designs. It has received attention in recent years and will have an important impact on the intelligent and optimized design of molds.
Development direction of mold processing technology China's mold is divided into 10 categories 46 sub-categories. Different types of molds have different processing methods, and similar molds can also be completed using different processing techniques. The work of mold processing mainly focuses on mold surface processing, surface processing and assembly. The main processing methods include precision casting, metal cutting, EDM, electrochemical machining, laser and other high-energy beam processing, and two or more processing methods. As one of the composite processing. The continuous development of numerical control and computer technology has made them widely used in many mold processing methods. In the diversification and individuation of industrial product varieties, the product replacement is fast, and the market competition is fierce, the user requires a short delivery time, high precision, good quality, and low price to drive the mold processing technology. Several aspects of development.
High-speed milling technology In recent years, some key enterprises in China's mold manufacturing industry have introduced high-speed milling machines and high-speed machining centers, which have played a very good role in mold processing. At present, the maximum speed of the foreign high-speed processing machine tool spindle has exceeded 100000r/min, the rapid feed speed can reach 120m/min, the acceleration can reach 1-2g, and the tool change time can be increased to 1-2s. In this way, the processing efficiency can be greatly improved, and the surface roughness of Ra ≤ 1 can be obtained, and the high hardness material of more than 60HRc can be cut, which poses a challenge to the EDM forming process. With the increase of the spindle speed, the machine tool structure and its configured system and key components, spare parts, and tools must be coordinated to greatly increase the cost of the machine tool. The maximum speed of spindles of high-speed machining tools imported from China will continue to be 10000-20000r/min in the short term, and a few will reach around 40000r/min. Although it is an inevitable direction to develop at higher speeds, the most important thing is to promote it.
High-speed machining is a revolutionary change in the cutting process. From the perspective of technological development, high-speed milling is being combined with ultra-precision machining and hard cutting to open up the field of milling and grinding, and greatly reducing the grinding and polishing of the mold. Quantity, shorten the mold manufacturing cycle, the application of mold enterprises in China will come more. Parallel machine tools, also known as virtual axis machine tools, and the birth of 3D laser 6-axis milling machines, and the application of open CNC systems to add even more high-speed processing luster.
EDM Although EDM has been severely challenged by high-speed milling, some inherent characteristics and unique advantages of EDM technology cannot be completely replaced by high-speed milling. For example, the complex profile of a die, and the small and deep cavity , sharp corners, narrow gaps, ravines, deep pits, etc. Although high-speed milling can also meet some of the above processing requirements, the cost is much higher than EDM. EDM is easier to automate than milling. Complex, precision small cavities and micro-cavities and removal of tool marks, complete sharp corners, narrow gaps, trenches, deep pit machining and pattern processing, etc., will be the focus of future EDM applications. In order to further play its unique role in mold processing, the following are the development directions of EDM:
Continuously improve EDM's efficiency, degree of automation, and processed surface integrity;
EDM equipment precision and large-scale;
EDM equipment processing stability, easy operation and excellent cost performance;
Meet the different requirements of energy-efficient and anti-electrolysis and other new types of pulse power supply R & D, power waveform detection and processing and control technology development;
Development of high-performance integrated technical expert system and continuous development of EDM intelligent technology and further development of adaptive control, fuzzy control, multi-axis linkage control, automatic electrode exchange, automatic double-line switching, anti-electrolytic action, and discharge energy distribution ;
Development of mirror bright processing technology such as mixed powder processing;
The development of micro-EDM technology, including three-dimensional fine-grained CNC EDM milling and micro-EDM grinding and micro-EDM technology;
The use of artificial intelligence technology in WEDM, the advancement of wire walking systems and threading technology;
EDM milling technology and machine tools and EDM machining centers (including molding machines and wire cutters) will be developed;
As a sustainable development strategy, green EDM technology is an important development trend in the future.
The biggest competitive factor in the future of rapid prototyping (RPM) and rapid tooling (RT) technology is how to quickly produce the molds that users need. RPM technology can be used directly or indirectly for RT. The goal of rapid metal mold manufacturing technology is to directly manufacture high-precision durable metal molds that can be used in industrial production. The key technology of indirect method is to develop short process technology, reduce precision loss, low-cost lamination and integration of surface finishing technology. The combination of RPM technology and RT technology will be the direction for further development of traditional rapid molding techniques (such as medium and low melting point alloy casting, spray coating, electroforming, precision casting, lamination, rubber casting, etc.). The combination of RPM technology and ceramic precision casting provides a new way for mold cavity casting. Using RPM/RT technology, from the conceptual design of the mold to the completion of manufacturing, it is only 1/3 of the time required for traditional processing methods and about 1/4 of the cost, and has broad prospects for development. To further improve the competitiveness of RT technology, it is necessary to develop data and process data to generate a direct and rapid method of manufacturing a metal mold that is easier, higher in accuracy, smaller in size, and smaller in material.
Ultra-precision machining, micro-fabrication, and composite machining technologies are being developed in the direction of precision and large-sized molds, and super-precision machining, micro-machining, and current-collecting, chemical, ultrasonic, and laser technologies will be developed. At present, ultra-precision machining has reached a submicron level stably, and nano-precision ultra-precision machining technology has also been applied to production. Electromachining, electrochemical machining, beam processing and other processing technologies have become an important part of microfabrication technology. It is more useful for foreign countries to produce nanoscale plastic molds with radiation waves with a wavelength of only 0.5 nanometers. Combining laser milling and high-speed milling on a single machine has resulted in new developments in mold processing technology.
Advanced surface treatment technology The mold heat treatment and surface treatment are the keys to the full use of mold material properties. Vacuum heat treatment, cryogenic treatment, vapor deposition (TiN, TiC, etc.) including PVD and CVD technology, ion infiltration, plasma spray and TRD surface treatment technology, diamond-like thin film coating technology, high wear-resistant and high-precision processing technology, non-stick surface Processing and other technologies have been applied in mold manufacturing and have shown good development prospects. The laser heat treatment, welding, strengthening and repairing techniques of the mold surface and other mold surface strengthening and repairing technologies will also receive more attention.
Grinding and Polishing of Mould Grinding and Polishing Moulds are still mainly hand-based, with low efficiency, high labor intensity, and unstable quality. China has introduced a CNC grinding machine that can realize the automatic polishing of three-dimensional surface molds, and the self-researching humanoid intelligent automatic polishing technology has achieved certain results. However, it has few applications at present and is expected to be developed. The future should continue to pay attention to the development of special grinding and polishing technologies, such as extrusion honing, laser honing and polishing, spark erosion, electrochemical polishing, ultrasonic polishing, and composite polishing technology and process equipment.
Die automatic processing system with the rapid development of various new technologies, foreign mold automatic processing system has emerged. Die automatic processing system should have the following characteristics: a reasonable combination of multiple machine tools; equipped with accompanying positioning fixture or positioning plate; a complete fixture and tool CNC library; a complete CNC flexible synchronization system and a quality monitoring and control system. It is also claimed that a machine tool that simultaneously performs roughing and finishing is a die processing system. These will be developed in the future.
CAM/DNC technology and software for molds With the rapid development of numerical control technology and computer technology, CAM/DNC technology has been widely used in Chinese mold enterprises. At present, among the many softwares, there are not many special softwares developed for the characteristics of mold processing, and there are few softwares for high-speed processing. The software that adapts to the characteristics of mold processing, has a high level of CNC machining capability and post-processing programs, has sophisticated precision machining and high-speed machining functions, has a friendly interface, is easy to learn, has multiple data format conversion functions, and can prepare conditions for system integration. It is the direction of future development.
In addition to the above development direction, there is a correct selection of cutting tools. According to statistics, the tool accounts for 3-5% of the total cost of the mold production. If the tool can be selected correctly, the production efficiency can be increased by more than 20%.
The development direction of integrated mold manufacturing technology In mold manufacturing, mold design and mold processing often cannot be separated. Therefore, in addition to design technology and processing technology, we must also pay attention to some integrated technologies, and its direction of development will have a major impact on mold manufacturing. At present, information technology featuring digital and network technologies, with microelectronics and software technologies at its core, is infiltrating all fields of society with strong penetrating power. The informationization of traditional manufacturing industries is imperative.
Mould CAD/CAE/CAM integration technology Mould CAD/CAE/CAM technology has developed into a more mature and common technology. The price of hardware and software has been reduced to the generally accepted level of small and medium-sized enterprises, coupled with the popularity and application of microcomputers. With the introduction of the microcomputer version software, the conditions for popularizing CAD/CAM in the mold industry have matured and will surely develop rapidly in the future. The integration of mold CAD/CAE/CAM and the applicability, integration, intelligence, and networking of software will be the future direction of development. Qualified enterprises should actively do a good job in the deepening of CAD/CAE/CAM technology, that is, applying KBE technology and carrying out enterprise information engineering. CAPP→PDM→CIMS→VM can be gradually deepened and improved, and many people think that implementing C3PCAD/CAE/CAM/PDM may be more effective.
Precision measurement and high-speed scanning and digitizing systems will play a greater role in reverse engineering and concurrent engineering With the development of high-precision molds, mold measurement technology appears to be important. The mold stress, magnetic force measurement technology, and three-dimensional measurement technology, as well as the dimensional accuracy of the R-site shape and the surface roughness measurement technology are the key points of the mold measurement technology. The soon-to-be-launched 4D laser measuring machine can be self-calibrated. Not only can 3D measurement be performed, but also quality indicators can be derived to illustrate the accuracy of each measurement point. The on-line laser measurement of the NC machining process not only helps to maintain the machining quality of the workpiece, but also greatly improves the operation safety of the NC machine tool. High-speed scanners and mold scanning systems provide a number of functions from model or physical scans to machining the desired model, which can significantly reduce the mold-making cycle. Reverse engineering and concurrent engineering will play an important role in the future mold production.
The standardization of moulds is continuously improved. The use of standard mould parts and the standardization of moulds in a correct and reasonable manner can effectively shorten the mould manufacturing cycle, improve the quality and reduce the cost. Therefore, the degree of standardization of moulds will continue to increase.
Virtual technology will be developed for the development of computer and information networks, making virtual technology a reality. Virtual technology can form a virtual space environment. It can not only realize the virtual assembly of the mold in the enterprise, but also can realize the virtual cooperation design, manufacture, cooperation and research and development among the enterprises, thus creating a virtual enterprise.
The rapid development of management technology The “three-point technology seven-point management†often stated in the machinery industry illustrates the importance of management. The establishment and operation of the modern enterprise system and various innovation mechanisms in mold enterprises are both the core of management technology and the success of mold manufacturing and enterprise development. Die and Mould Manufacturing Management Information System (MIS), Product Information Management (PDM), the establishment of an Internet platform as a means of corporate communication and contact, and mold manufacturing e-commerce systems (EC) are not discussed in this paper, but they are also a tool for mold management technology. The direction of development has attracted the attention of the industry.
Today, as informatization drives the development of industrialization, China's mold design, processing, and manufacturing technologies have lagged behind international standards. Enterprise management technology has lagged behind international standards and is a fact that the industry cannot ignore. If you want to quickly improve the level of China's mold industry, all employees must work hard to firmly grasp the development direction of the world mold technology, give full play to the subjective initiative, down to earth, with confidence to create a better future.
EDM equipment precision and large-scale;
EDM equipment processing stability, easy operation and excellent cost performance;
Meet the different requirements of energy-efficient and anti-electrolysis and other new types of pulse power supply R & D, power waveform detection and processing and control technology development;
Development of high-performance integrated technical expert system and continuous development of EDM intelligent technology and further development of adaptive control, fuzzy control, multi-axis linkage control, automatic electrode exchange, automatic double-line switching, anti-electrolytic action, and discharge energy distribution Development of mirror bright processing technology such as mixed powder processing;
The development of micro-EDM technology, including three-dimensional fine-grained CNC EDM milling and micro-EDM grinding and micro-EDM technology;
The use of artificial intelligence technology in WEDM, the advancement of wire walking systems and threading technology;
EDM milling technology and machine tools and EDM machining centers (including molding machines and wire cutters) will be developed;
As a sustainable development strategy, green EDM technology is an important development trend in the future.
The biggest competitive factor in the future of rapid prototyping (RPM) and rapid tooling (RT) technology is how to quickly produce the molds that users need. RPM technology can be used directly or indirectly for RT. The goal of rapid metal mold manufacturing technology is to directly manufacture high-precision durable metal molds that can be used in industrial production. The key technology of indirect method is to develop short process technology, reduce precision loss, low-cost lamination and integration of surface finishing technology. The combination of RPM technology and RT technology will be the direction for further development of traditional rapid molding techniques (such as medium and low melting point alloy casting, spray coating, electroforming, precision casting, lamination, rubber casting, etc.). The combination of RPM technology and ceramic precision casting provides a new way for mold cavity casting. Using RPM/RT technology, from the conceptual design of the mold to the completion of manufacturing, it is only 1/3 of the time required for traditional processing methods and about 1/4 of the cost, and has broad prospects for development. To further improve the competitiveness of RT technology, it is necessary to develop data and process data to generate a direct and rapid method of manufacturing a metal mold that is easier, higher in accuracy, smaller in size, and smaller in material.
Ultra-precision machining, micro-fabrication, and composite machining technologies are being developed in the direction of precision and large-sized molds, and super-precision machining, micro-machining, and current-collecting, chemical, ultrasonic, and laser technologies will be developed. At present, ultra-precision machining has reached a submicron level stably, and nano-precision ultra-precision machining technology has also been applied to production. Electromachining, electrochemical machining, beam processing and other processing technologies have become an important part of microfabrication technology. It is more useful for foreign countries to produce nanoscale plastic molds with radiation waves with a wavelength of only 0.5 nanometers. Combining laser milling and high-speed milling on a single machine has resulted in new developments in mold processing technology.
Advanced surface treatment technology The mold heat treatment and surface treatment are the keys to the full use of mold material properties. Vacuum heat treatment, cryogenic treatment, vapor deposition (TiN, TiC, etc.) including PVD and CVD technology, ion infiltration, plasma spray and TRD surface treatment technology, diamond-like thin film coating technology, high wear-resistant and high-precision processing technology, non-stick surface Processing and other technologies have been applied in mold manufacturing and have shown good development prospects. The laser heat treatment, welding, strengthening and repairing techniques of the mold surface and other mold surface strengthening and repairing technologies will also receive more attention.
Grinding and Polishing of Mould Grinding and Polishing Moulds are still mainly hand-based, with low efficiency, high labor intensity, and unstable quality. China has introduced a CNC grinding machine that can realize the automatic polishing of three-dimensional surface molds, and the self-researching humanoid intelligent automatic polishing technology has achieved certain results. However, it has few applications at present and is expected to be developed. The future should continue to pay attention to the development of special grinding and polishing technologies, such as extrusion honing, laser honing and polishing, spark erosion, electrochemical polishing, ultrasonic polishing, and composite polishing technology and process equipment.
The mold making technology includes design and processing. This article analyzes the technical development direction of the Chinese mold industry from these two aspects. The article first pointed out that CAD/CAE, CAPP, and KBE are the main trends in mold design technology; then it discusses the development direction of mold processing technologies, such as high-speed milling, EDM, rapid prototyping, and rapid mode. Finally, the future of the comprehensive technology of mold making was analyzed.
From a technical point of view, mold manufacturing (including design and machining) technology can be broadly divided into five stages of development: manual operation, manual operation plus mechanization (general-purpose machine tools and tools), digital control, computerization, and CAD / CAE/CAM information network technology integration stage.
China has a vast territory, a large number of mold manufacturing companies, and varying levels of technological development. Each phase coexists at the same time. However, at present, it is mainly in the digital control phase. Some key enterprises have developed to a computerized stage. But at the same time, many companies still remain at the stage of manual operation and mechanization. The stage of purely manual operation has basically become history, and the integration stage of CAD/CAE/CAM information network technology has begun to take shape. For most mold manufacturing companies, the future direction of development should be mainly to improve the level of numerical control and computerization, and actively adopt high technology, and gradually move toward CAD/CAE/CAM information network technology integration. The paperless manufacturing of the mold will gradually replace the traditional design and processing.
The development direction of mold design technology Mold design has long depended on human experience and mechanical drawing. Since the development of computer-aided design (CAD) technology for molds in the 1980s, this technology has been recognized and quickly developed. The computer-aided engineering analysis (CAE) technology developed in the 1990s is now also used by many companies. It has a significant effect on shortening the mold manufacturing cycle and improving the mold quality. The CAD technology applied by mold enterprises in some industrialized countries has evolved from two-dimensional design to three-dimensional design, and the three-dimensional design has reached more than 70%. Most companies in China still stay at the level of two-dimensional design, and less than 20% of companies are capable of three-dimensional design. The application of CAE software in foreign countries has become more common, and domestic applications are still relatively small. The level of defects that may occur in the prediction of parts forming process is still relatively low.
Mold design technology and CAD and CAE software should be improved in the following aspects in the future:
Mold design database and knowledge base system;
Mold engineering planning and design;
Reasonable selection of mold materials and standard parts;
Mold rigidity, strength, flow path and cooling path design;
Various simulations of plastic mould plastic forming processes (injection moulding, including plastic mould filling, holding pressure, cooling, warpage, shrinkage, fiber orientation, etc.), analysis of heat conduction and cooling processes, solidification and structural stress analysis. It is very complicated and time-consuming to calculate the distribution of pressure field, temperature field, velocity field, shear strain rate field and shear stress field of casting system and cavity. This simulation technology has evolved from mid-stream technology to double-sided flow technology. It will soon be possible to develop both accurate and fast physical flow technologies and produce three-dimensional injection molding flow simulation software that meets the requirements for the virtual manufacturing of plastic parts.
Simulation, wrinkling and fracture analysis, stress strain and springback analysis of the metal forming process of the die;
Die-casting die-casting forming flow simulation, heat conduction and solidification analysis;
Forging die forging process simulation and metal flow and filling analysis;
Improve the rapidity, intelligence, and integration of design and analysis software, and enhance their functionality to accommodate the continuous development of molds.
In addition to the mold CAD/CAE technology, the mold process design is also very important. Computer-aided process design (CAPP) technology has begun to be applied in Chinese mold enterprises. Since most of the molds are single-piece production, the process specifications are different from those of mass production. Therefore, it is difficult to apply CAPP technology, and it is difficult to have CAPP software suitable for various molds and different mold companies. In order to better use CAPP technology, mold companies must do a good job in development and research. Although CAPP technology is more difficult to apply and promote than CAD and CAE, it must also pay attention to this direction.
Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) technology is an important tool for the automation of modern design decisions. It has become an important way to promote the intelligent design of engineering designs. It has received attention in recent years and will have an important impact on the intelligent and optimized design of molds.
Development direction of mold processing technology China's mold is divided into 10 categories 46 sub-categories. Different types of molds have different processing methods, and similar molds can also be completed using different processing techniques. The work of mold processing mainly focuses on mold surface processing, surface processing and assembly. The main processing methods include precision casting, metal cutting, EDM, electrochemical machining, laser and other high-energy beam processing, and two or more processing methods. As one of the composite processing. The continuous development of numerical control and computer technology has made them widely used in many mold processing methods. In the diversification and individuation of industrial product varieties, the product replacement is fast, and the market competition is fierce, the user requires a short delivery time, high precision, good quality, and low price to drive the mold processing technology. Several aspects of development.
High-speed milling technology In recent years, some key enterprises in China's mold manufacturing industry have introduced high-speed milling machines and high-speed machining centers, which have played a very good role in mold processing. At present, the maximum speed of the foreign high-speed processing machine tool spindle has exceeded 100000r/min, the rapid feed speed can reach 120m/min, the acceleration can reach 1-2g, and the tool change time can be increased to 1-2s. In this way, the processing efficiency can be greatly improved, and the surface roughness of Ra ≤ 1 can be obtained, and the high hardness material of more than 60HRc can be cut, which poses a challenge to the EDM forming process. With the increase of the spindle speed, the machine tool structure and its configured system and key components, spare parts, and tools must be coordinated to greatly increase the cost of the machine tool. The maximum speed of spindles of high-speed machining tools imported from China will continue to be 10000-20000r/min in the short term, and a few will reach around 40000r/min. Although it is an inevitable direction to develop at higher speeds, the most important thing is to promote it.
High-speed machining is a revolutionary change in the cutting process. From the perspective of technological development, high-speed milling is being combined with ultra-precision machining and hard cutting to open up the field of milling and grinding, and greatly reducing the grinding and polishing of the mold. Quantity, shorten the mold manufacturing cycle, the application of mold enterprises in China will come more. Parallel machine tools, also known as virtual axis machine tools, and the birth of 3D laser 6-axis milling machines, and the application of open CNC systems to add even more high-speed processing luster.
EDM Although EDM has been severely challenged by high-speed milling, some inherent characteristics and unique advantages of EDM technology cannot be completely replaced by high-speed milling. For example, the complex profile of a die, and the small and deep cavity , sharp corners, narrow gaps, ravines, deep pits, etc. Although high-speed milling can also meet some of the above processing requirements, the cost is much higher than EDM. EDM is easier to automate than milling. Complex, precision small cavities and micro-cavities and removal of tool marks, complete sharp corners, narrow gaps, trenches, deep pit machining and pattern processing, etc., will be the focus of future EDM applications. In order to further play its unique role in mold processing, the following are the development directions of EDM:
Continuously improve EDM's efficiency, degree of automation, and processed surface integrity;
EDM equipment precision and large-scale;
EDM equipment processing stability, easy operation and excellent cost performance;
Meet the different requirements of energy-efficient and anti-electrolysis and other new types of pulse power supply R & D, power waveform detection and processing and control technology development;
Development of high-performance integrated technical expert system and continuous development of EDM intelligent technology and further development of adaptive control, fuzzy control, multi-axis linkage control, automatic electrode exchange, automatic double-line switching, anti-electrolytic action, and discharge energy distribution ;
Development of mirror bright processing technology such as mixed powder processing;
The development of micro-EDM technology, including three-dimensional fine-grained CNC EDM milling and micro-EDM grinding and micro-EDM technology;
The use of artificial intelligence technology in WEDM, the advancement of wire walking systems and threading technology;
EDM milling technology and machine tools and EDM machining centers (including molding machines and wire cutters) will be developed;
As a sustainable development strategy, green EDM technology is an important development trend in the future.
The biggest competitive factor in the future of rapid prototyping (RPM) and rapid tooling (RT) technology is how to quickly produce the molds that users need. RPM technology can be used directly or indirectly for RT. The goal of rapid metal mold manufacturing technology is to directly manufacture high-precision durable metal molds that can be used in industrial production. The key technology of indirect method is to develop short process technology, reduce precision loss, low-cost lamination and integration of surface finishing technology. The combination of RPM technology and RT technology will be the direction for further development of traditional rapid molding techniques (such as medium and low melting point alloy casting, spray coating, electroforming, precision casting, lamination, rubber casting, etc.). The combination of RPM technology and ceramic precision casting provides a new way for mold cavity casting. Using RPM/RT technology, from the conceptual design of the mold to the completion of manufacturing, it is only 1/3 of the time required for traditional processing methods and about 1/4 of the cost, and has broad prospects for development. To further improve the competitiveness of RT technology, it is necessary to develop data and process data to generate a direct and rapid method of manufacturing a metal mold that is easier, higher in accuracy, smaller in size, and smaller in material.
Ultra-precision machining, micro-fabrication, and composite machining technologies are being developed in the direction of precision and large-sized molds, and super-precision machining, micro-machining, and current-collecting, chemical, ultrasonic, and laser technologies will be developed. At present, ultra-precision machining has reached a submicron level stably, and nano-precision ultra-precision machining technology has also been applied to production. Electromachining, electrochemical machining, beam processing and other processing technologies have become an important part of microfabrication technology. It is more useful for foreign countries to produce nanoscale plastic molds with radiation waves with a wavelength of only 0.5 nanometers. Combining laser milling and high-speed milling on a single machine has resulted in new developments in mold processing technology.
Advanced surface treatment technology The mold heat treatment and surface treatment are the keys to the full use of mold material properties. Vacuum heat treatment, cryogenic treatment, vapor deposition (TiN, TiC, etc.) including PVD and CVD technology, ion infiltration, plasma spray and TRD surface treatment technology, diamond-like thin film coating technology, high wear-resistant and high-precision processing technology, non-stick surface Processing and other technologies have been applied in mold manufacturing and have shown good development prospects. The laser heat treatment, welding, strengthening and repairing techniques of the mold surface and other mold surface strengthening and repairing technologies will also receive more attention.
Grinding and Polishing of Mould Grinding and Polishing Moulds are still mainly hand-based, with low efficiency, high labor intensity, and unstable quality. China has introduced a CNC grinding machine that can realize the automatic polishing of three-dimensional surface molds, and the self-researching humanoid intelligent automatic polishing technology has achieved certain results. However, it has few applications at present and is expected to be developed. The future should continue to pay attention to the development of special grinding and polishing technologies, such as extrusion honing, laser honing and polishing, spark erosion, electrochemical polishing, ultrasonic polishing, and composite polishing technology and process equipment.
Die automatic processing system with the rapid development of various new technologies, foreign mold automatic processing system has emerged. Die automatic processing system should have the following characteristics: a reasonable combination of multiple machine tools; equipped with accompanying positioning fixture or positioning plate; a complete fixture and tool CNC library; a complete CNC flexible synchronization system and a quality monitoring and control system. It is also claimed that a machine tool that simultaneously performs roughing and finishing is a die processing system. These will be developed in the future.
CAM/DNC technology and software for molds With the rapid development of numerical control technology and computer technology, CAM/DNC technology has been widely used in Chinese mold enterprises. At present, among the many softwares, there are not many special softwares developed for the characteristics of mold processing, and there are few softwares for high-speed processing. The software that adapts to the characteristics of mold processing, has a high level of CNC machining capability and post-processing programs, has sophisticated precision machining and high-speed machining functions, has a friendly interface, is easy to learn, has multiple data format conversion functions, and can prepare conditions for system integration. It is the direction of future development.
In addition to the above development direction, there is a correct selection of cutting tools. According to statistics, the tool accounts for 3-5% of the total cost of the mold production. If the tool can be selected correctly, the production efficiency can be increased by more than 20%.
The development direction of integrated mold manufacturing technology In mold manufacturing, mold design and mold processing often cannot be separated. Therefore, in addition to design technology and processing technology, we must also pay attention to some integrated technologies, and its direction of development will have a major impact on mold manufacturing. At present, information technology featuring digital and network technologies, with microelectronics and software technologies at its core, is infiltrating all fields of society with strong penetrating power. The informationization of traditional manufacturing industries is imperative.
Mould CAD/CAE/CAM integration technology Mould CAD/CAE/CAM technology has developed into a more mature and common technology. The price of hardware and software has been reduced to the generally accepted level of small and medium-sized enterprises, coupled with the popularity and application of microcomputers. With the introduction of the microcomputer version software, the conditions for popularizing CAD/CAM in the mold industry have matured and will surely develop rapidly in the future. The integration of mold CAD/CAE/CAM and the applicability, integration, intelligence, and networking of software will be the future direction of development. Qualified enterprises should actively do a good job in the deepening of CAD/CAE/CAM technology, that is, applying KBE technology and carrying out enterprise information engineering. CAPP→PDM→CIMS→VM can be gradually deepened and improved, and many people think that implementing C3PCAD/CAE/CAM/PDM may be more effective.
Precision measurement and high-speed scanning and digitizing systems will play a greater role in reverse engineering and concurrent engineering With the development of high-precision molds, mold measurement technology appears to be important. The mold stress, magnetic force measurement technology, and three-dimensional measurement technology, as well as the dimensional accuracy of the R-site shape and the surface roughness measurement technology are the key points of the mold measurement technology. The soon-to-be-launched 4D laser measuring machine can be self-calibrated. Not only can 3D measurement be performed, but also quality indicators can be derived to illustrate the accuracy of each measurement point. The on-line laser measurement of the NC machining process not only helps to maintain the machining quality of the workpiece, but also greatly improves the operation safety of the NC machine tool. High-speed scanners and mold scanning systems provide a number of functions from model or physical scans to machining the desired model, which can significantly reduce the mold-making cycle. Reverse engineering and concurrent engineering will play an important role in the future mold production.
The standardization of moulds is continuously improved. The use of standard mould parts and the standardization of moulds in a correct and reasonable manner can effectively shorten the mould manufacturing cycle, improve the quality and reduce the cost. Therefore, the degree of standardization of moulds will continue to increase.
Virtual technology will be developed for the development of computer and information networks, making virtual technology a reality. Virtual technology can form a virtual space environment. It can not only realize the virtual assembly of the mold in the enterprise, but also can realize the virtual cooperation design, manufacture, cooperation and research and development among the enterprises, thus creating a virtual enterprise.
The rapid development of management technology The “three-point technology seven-point management†often stated in the machinery industry illustrates the importance of management. The establishment and operation of the modern enterprise system and various innovation mechanisms in mold enterprises are both the core of management technology and the success of mold manufacturing and enterprise development. Die and Mould Manufacturing Management Information System (MIS), Product Information Management (PDM), the establishment of an Internet platform as a means of corporate communication and contact, and mold manufacturing e-commerce systems (EC) are not discussed in this paper, but they are also a tool for mold management technology. The direction of development has attracted the attention of the industry.
Today, as informatization drives the development of industrialization, China's mold design, processing, and manufacturing technologies have lagged behind international standards. Enterprise management technology has lagged behind international standards and is a fact that the industry cannot ignore. If you want to quickly improve the level of China's mold industry, all employees must work hard to firmly grasp the development direction of the world mold technology, give full play to the subjective initiative, down to earth, with confidence to create a better future.
Steel Structure Building,Steel Structure Workshop Co., Ltd. , http://www.nssbuilding.com