How CNC Machine Tools Shorten The Mold Manufacturing Cycle?

Mold manufacturing is an important part of industrial production and is widely used in industries such as automobiles, home appliances, electronics, and aerospace. Traditional mold processing methods often rely on manual operations and ordinary machine tools, with a long production cycle, which is difficult to meet the market's demand for efficient manufacturing. The application of CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools has greatly shortened the mold manufacturing cycle and improved production efficiency and processing accuracy.

1. CNC machine tools improve processing efficiency

CNC machine tools use automated control systems to perform processing operations according to preset programs, and can run continuously, greatly reducing human intervention and improving production efficiency. For example, a five-axis CNC machine tool can complete the milling, drilling and finishing of complex surfaces in one clamping, avoiding the clamping errors and time waste caused by the traditional multi-process splitting.

Compared with traditional manual milling and EDM, CNC high-speed milling technology can complete the cutting of mold cavities and contours in a short time, greatly improving the processing speed. For example, high-speed CNC milling can shorten the mold manufacturing time by 30%-50%.

2. Reduce repeated debugging and improve processing accuracy

Traditional mold manufacturing requires multiple trial cutting and adjustments, while CNC machine tools use precise CNC programming and simulation technology to optimize the process path before processing and reduce trial and error time. The automatic measurement system equipped with modern CNC machine tools can also detect the workpiece size in real time during the processing process, automatically adjust the error, and ensure the accuracy of the mold.

In addition, the repetitive positioning accuracy of CNC machine tools is as high as micron level, which ensures the consistency of each part of the mold, reduces the subsequent finishing process, and further shortens the overall manufacturing cycle.

3. Integrated automation to improve production continuity

CNC machine tools can be combined with automatic tool change (ATC), automatic loading and unloading, and robot systems to achieve unmanned processing. Mold manufacturing companies can use CNC flexible production lines to continuously produce multiple mold parts, avoiding the waiting time caused by traditional manual operation and improving production efficiency.

In addition, the application of CAD/CAM software enables seamless connection between design and manufacturing, and design data can be directly converted into processing code, reducing manual programming time and improving production flexibility.

4. Optimize material utilization and reduce secondary processing

CNC machine tools use high-precision cutting to reduce material waste and optimize tool paths, making the mold surface quality higher and reducing manual polishing and subsequent finishing work. Especially in carbide mold processing, CNC hard milling technology can replace EDM, avoiding the time loss caused by slow EDM processing.

Conclusion

The widespread application of CNC machine tools has enabled mold manufacturing to shift from traditional manual operation to intelligent and automated production, greatly shortening the manufacturing cycle and improving processing accuracy and production efficiency. With the development of intelligent manufacturing, CNC technology will further promote the mold industry to move towards high efficiency, precision and flexibility, providing faster and better solutions for industrial production.