MOLDMAKING REPORT: Canadian Association of Mold Makers Trade Fair, Windsor, ON, Nov. 7, 2002

Anchor Lamina Inc. (Windsor, ON) has introduced a new product line, LamGlide Bushings. According to account manager Joe Bondy, the bushings have a teflon insert and are designed to replace bushings with graphite inserts used in high-heat applications. “As bushings with graphite heat up, the graphite can get messy. Our LamGlide bushings are very clean and good for applications such as medical molding,” says Bondy. The product is brand new and at the time of the show was being beta tested.

Hasco America, Inc. (Scarborough, ON) has recently launched a new product line, the Z3600 Collapsible Core, designed to give the moldmaker an alternative to unscrewing systems. Unlike an unscrewing system, the collapsible core does not rotate, but is activated by mold action. The product’s compact design makes it possible to fit multiple cores in a minimum amount of space in the mold.

Bernard Mould Ltd. (Oldcastle, ON) is seeing continued growth in the injection molding side of its business. President Ed Bernard says the company got into injection molding about three years ago but has largely kept it a secret for business reasons. Today the company has one Van Dorn, two HPMs and one Milacron ranging from 75- to 500-tons in clamping force. The response from customers has been positive.

“The machines give us the ability to do mold tryouts, helps lower our costs and eliminates finger-pointing if there’s a problem,” says Bernard.

Bernard Mould is the exclusive contract molder for Conti Collectible action figures. So far, the company has handled the tooling and molding of 390 different Conti action figures, reports Bernard.

D-M-E Company and parent company Milacron Inc. will pool marketing and technical resources in a new initiative to bring cutting-edge tooling and molding technology to moldmakers before the tool design process begins. According to Hermann Plank, Milacron’s director multi-component technologies for North America, there are many new mold technologies moldmakers can use to provide their customers with high added-value and cost savings. “We want them to be aware of what’s out there,” says Plank. “Once the mold is quoted, it’s often too late.”