Moldmaking Report (March 01, 2003)
Canadian Plastics
A united voice for moldmakersFour groups representing the Canadian mold, tool, die and machining industry have formed a new federation to present a unified voice on industry issues. The new Canadian M...
A united voice for moldmakers
Four groups representing the Canadian mold, tool, die and machining industry have formed a new federation to present a unified voice on industry issues. The new Canadian Machine, Tool, Die and Mould Federation will be governed by representatives from the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM), the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association (CTMA), the Canadian Pattern-Modelmakers Association (CPMA) and the Mould Makers Council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (MMC/CPIA).
“We have made significant progress in unifying the machine, tool, die and moldmaking sectors,” said Nick Durante, chair of CPIA’s Mould Makers Council. “We hope this unification will give us not only strength, but a powerful voice for the industry.”
The federation will be equally funded by these founding members and will represent the collective interests of the industry. All four founding associations will continue to operate as individual organizations, while eliminating duplication of activities.
Les Payne, president of CTMA, will lead the new federation as interim chairman.
Moldmaker opens new R&D/testing facility
Mississauga, ON-based moldmaker Profine Molds Inc. is opening a new 5,000 sq. ft. research and development and product testing facility. The facility, a leased building located close to the company’s manufacturing plant, will house a dedicated R&D team of engineers/designers, technicians and equipment, with a focus on using innovative approaches for optimizing product and tooling development.
“We are moving to the next level of growth,” says Manuel Gomes, Profine president. Gomes reports that while R&D has always been an integral part of the company’s business, the new building formally integrates these activities into the company’s business strategy, allowing R&D and testing to be more focused and effective.
Gomes says the R&D team will focus on projects related to lowering production costs and improving efficiency through the use of various in-mold processes. Such projects include ejection and mold closing mechanisms, low maintenance mold systems, mold designs for aggressive environments, cycle time reductions and more.
The facility will house 30-ton to 350-ton injection molding machines for product and tooling testing, as well as cycle time optimization. The machines will also be used for regular mold trials to verify mold performance meets customer requirements. Profine designs and manufactures medium-size molds for the pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetics and personnel care, consumer, automotive and industrial markets.
Student version of CAD/CAM software
A specially-priced student version of CATIA is available through a partnership between IBM, Dassault Systmes, and Engineering.com Inc., an Internet-based software and business-to-business marketplace, which will distribute the software.
CATIA-Design for Student 1 Configuration (CS1) provides engineering students with design tools to perform 3D part and assembly design, generate production drawings, create wireframe construction plans and work concurrently with other students in a virtual environment, from school or home.
Laser engraving speeds up blow mold manufacturing
Moldmaker Garrtech Inc. (Stoney Creek, ON) is saving considerable time engraving dates and part numbers on blow molds since it installed its own laser engraving machine about one year ago. “What used to take fifteen to twenty minutes to engrave using our CNC machines takes two minutes on our laser engraver,” says Rob Fazackerly, Garrtech’s vice-president sales.
Garrtech is also using its laser engraver to make date inserts. While mold component suppliers offer date inserts for injection molds, Fazackerly has found these inserts don’t work satisfactorily in blow molds.
Moldmaking pre-apprentice award attracts Minister’s presence
On March 26, at Verdi’s Conference Centre in Mississauga, ON, the Honorable Dianne Cunningham, Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, will address a group gathered to celebrate the third annual Pre-Apprenticeship Awards offered by the Mould Makers Council of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Industry leaders will join her on the podium to impart their personal stories and vision of moldmaking as a career.
“This industry has made such huge advances and become so complex and specialized that the opportunities are infinite,” said Tony Paget, president of Garrtech Inc. and chairman of the Award Committee. “There is a huge paradigm shift between what moldmaking was then and what it is now, and the race will continue. In this immense field of mold and tool-making our biggest single constant is change. What a tremendous platform for a challenging, rewarding technology oriented career.”
Several students will be given awards in recognition of their outstanding academic and technical performance. This year’s competition has been expanded to include two more institutions, Georgian College and Sheridan College, in addition to the three colleges represented in the past, Durham College, St. Clair College and Seneca College.
The awards are designed to raise the profile of moldmaking as a career and to attract the best talents and skills to the career of moldmaking.
“The Mould Makers Council will help the winning students get a head start in their studies through our offer of cash prizes, as well as tool boxes and tools,” said Paget. The prizes are offered courtesy of sponsorships from businesses.
Briefly …
Long established as a supplier in standard components, HASCO now offers hot half design and development. Following design review with the customer, HASCO’s application engineers design a hot half, based on both HASCO standard components and when required, custom components.
People …
Nick Durante has joined F.G.L. Precision Works Ltd. (Concord, ON) as international business development manager.
CAMM student awards
Promising moldmaking students were honored by the Canadian Association of Moldmakers at the group’s January meeting. The awards are sponsored by Bernard Mould, Cornerstone Mold Technologies, D-M-E Canada, DMS (Canada) Ltd., M2M International, MPT Industrial Products and Tax Marketing Consultants.
Not shown below are Gregory Morrow, who won in the category Best Mechanical Technician — Mouldmaking and Melissa McFarlane, winner of Best Mechanical Technican — CAD/CAM.