Mould Design is a specialised discipline, comprising product analysis and a detailed knowledge of materials, manufacturing procedures and methods.
Tool design is also a vitally important part of the injection moulding process, as the way a product is injection moulded will affect strength, quality and durability. For example, intelligently managing the way a product cools in the mould will prevent distortion and keep manufacturing tolerances tight.
Ensuring your product is ‘Designed for Manufacture’ and procuring the best possible injection mould tool can make all the difference to product quality, manufacturing speed, unit cost and manufacturing productivity. Therefore A K Industries provides exceptional design support and will also project manage the injection mould design process on behalf of our customers.
This means that our extensive skills and experience are on-hand to support you through the tooling design and procurement process, and gives you one single point of contact.
- Through our long-standing relationships with UK and far East tooling partners we can manage your product from concept to realisation
- Extensive CAD experience- generating 2D and 3D models
- Advise on component feasibility
- Minor design amendments data permitting
- Involvement in FMEA for products
- Aid in DFM, DFMA and DFWC
- VE best methods of manufacture
- Advise on tooling fees and methods if a customer were to choose to go through their own source
- Ensure a rapid turnaround
- Support and acceptance of existing tooling transfers, mould repairs, and a comprehensive mould management and maintenance programme
At A K Industries we understand that at the heart of any successfully moulded product is a high-quality injection mould tool. In placing your tool with us you will be able to reap the benefits of partnering with a manufacturing company who takes pride in the through-life engineering of our customer’s tools.
There are many different elements which make up the Engineering Service Support we provide here at AKI:
- Preventative Maintenance
- Proactive and Reactive tooling maintenance through in house and external tooling partners
- Tooling modifications and refurbishments carried out in our fully equipped tool room by skilled engineers
- Our close relationships with local toolmakers and engineering companies
- CNC machines integrated with CAD software for complex machining
- Advanced machining through Computer Aided Manufacture
- All customers tooling is kept onsite and is fully insured
- Through our UK and offshore tooling partners, we are capable of single impression soft tooling to multi impression fully hardened multi plate mechanical tooling
- 3 Plate tooling; Heated Sprue Brush tooling; Multi Drop Hot Runner tooling; Cold feed tooling
- Partnerships with universities to produce rapid prototypes
- Tooling database through our integrated ERP system to record all modifications, repairs and to track the life of our customers tools
We are also able to offer a Planned Tooling Maintenance service, whereby there are three different levels dependant on our customer’s product and the complexity of the tool. In all service levels standard components such as screws and “O” seals will be included in service costs. All other replacement parts will be an additional cost, this will be advised prior to procuring or starting manufacture of the parts.
Service Level 1
- Open tool in tool-room
- Inspect for visual wear/ damage to all mould surfaces, pillars and bushes
- Clean surface vents
- Check condition of Sprue brush. Re-machine radius is required
- Push ejection forward. Inspect ejection for wear/ damage and lubricate
- Blow through waterways to check for blockage of cooling channels
- Complete service and tool condition report
Service Level 2
- All work completed as per Service Level 1. Additionally;
- Remove ejector frame and all ejection from tool
- Clean ejectors and clean through all ejector holes
- Remove all slides on surface of tool. Clean and lubricate wear plates and runners
- Remove any cores from slides. Clean vents and de-scale waterways, replace “O” seals
- Carry out flow test on tool when re-assembled
Service Level 3
- All work completed as per Service Level 2. Additionally;
- Every insert, core moving part removed from tool, inspected and cleaned before replacing
- All “O” seals replaced behind inserts in fixed and moving half pockets
- All hydraulics, unscrewing mechanisms (gearing, bearings racks and associated wear plates) removed, inspected and re-lubricated)
A K Industries’ higher level engineering service for our customers has the benefits of being cost effective and ensures that your assets are extremely well cared for.
