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JEEVAN RAM
MOULD MATERIAL AND ITS SELECTION
Mould Materials
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Hardening : 980‐1050*C
Quenching : air
Tempering : 180‐450*C,
RC 58‐62
Nitriding : not recommended
For more details about the heat treatment of the foregoing and other steel grades. It is strongly
suggested to consult the corresponding information by the steel supplier.
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS FOR STEELS IN MOULDS
APPLICATIONS FOR THE TYPICAL MOULD STEEL
Type of steel Typical uses in injection moulds
4130/4140 General mould base plates
P‐20 High grade mould base plates, hot runner manifolds, large cavities and cores,
gibs, slides, interlocks
4414 SS, 420 SS Best grade mould base plate (no plating required), large cores, cavities & inserts
(preheated)
P5, P6 Hobbed cavities
01 Gibs, slides, water plates
06 Gibs, slides, water plates, stripper rings
H‐13 Cavities, cores, inserts, ejector pins, sleeves
S7 Cavities, core, inserts, stripper rings
A2 Small insert in high water areas
A6 Cavities, cores, inserts for high wear areas
A10 Excellent for high wear areas, gibs, interlocks, wedges
D2 Cavities, core, runners and gates inserts for abrasive plastics
420 SS Best all round cavity, core and insert steel, best polish ability
440C SS Small to medium size cavities, cores, inserts, stripper rings.
250, 350 Highest toughness for cavities, cores, small unsupported inserts
455M SS High toughness for cavities, cores, inserts
M2 Small core pins, ejector pins, ejector blades (up to 5/8 in.dia)
ASP 30 Best high strength steel for tall, unsupported cores and core pins
MOULDS MATERIAL & ITS APPLICATION
ISI Application
T35CrMo1V30 Cavities, cores, ejector pins, guides, wear pads of moulds
T35CrMo1W1V30 Die casting dies, plastics moulds
T35Cr5Mo1 V1 Cavities, cores, ejector pins, guides, wear pads of moulds
‐ High tensile load applications max. strength when hardened to 58‐60 Rc used for
cavity housing core and cavity back plate, shoulder screws, clamp
40NI2Cr1Mo28 High tensile load application max. strength when hardened to 58‐60 Rc used for
cavity housing core and cavity back plate, shoulder screws clamp
13NI3Cr80 Cavity and core
‐ Bright steels, used for ejector pins, dowels etc.
T105Cr1 Used for guide pillar, bush and bearing purposes
T103 Used as a wear plate, backing pad
‐ Delicate core pins in mould and die casting dies
C10 &C14 Bolster, support, block, plates, backing plate, holder plates
C35Mn75 Pillar, bush, sprue bush, locating ring, bigger diameter, ejector pins
50Cr1 V23 Used for coil and plate springs
50Cr1 V23 Used for coil and plate springs
T55NI2Cr65Mo30 Core and cavity
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Spectrum of Materials used in building Moulds‐ Arranged in order of Surface Hardness
Material class Surface hardness Core hardness
Carbides 68‐75RC 68‐75 RC
Steel nitriding >68 RC >38 RC
Steel, carburizing 60‐65 RC 20‐42 RC
Steel, water hardening 65RC 40‐55 RC
Steel, oil hardening 62 RC 40‐60 RC
Steel, air hardening 60 RC 60 RC
Nickel cobalt alloy 45‐52 RC 45‐52 RC
Steel, prehardened 44 RC 44 RC
Beryllium copper 28‐42 RC 44 RC
Steel, prehardened 28‐32 RC 28‐32 RC
Kisksite (zinc alloy) 80‐105 BN (1) 80‐105 BN (1)
Aluminum alloy 60‐95 BN (1) 60‐95 BN (1)
Brass 50 BN (1) 50 BN (1)
Sprayed metal <50 BN (1) <50 BN (1)
Epoxy, metal filled 85 RM 85 RM
Silicone rubber 15‐65 Shore “A” 15‐65 Shore “A”
Legend: RC = Rockwell hardness =”C”scale; RM= “M”scale; BHN= Brinell number 3000kg; BN (1)= brinell
number 500kg load.
MACHINABILITY: Some grades of steel will undergo certain machining operation with greater ease then
others. The machinability of steels may very with the annealing process. It is possible to anneal specially
a piece of steel to give it better machinability for a given process. For obtaining the maximum amount of
machinability, steel stock from which mold plungers are cut on a duplicator may require a different
annealing process then a block of steel than is to be fabricated principally by boring, the machinability of
a given stock will vary with the type of machining to be done; and will to some extent be determined by
the type of annealing to which the stock has been subjected. Mold steels are usually annealed to
provide the best average machinability. There is no reliable yardstick with which ton measure
machinability since it is influenced by a particular machinists experience. However, as a rule the more
alloying element (such as nickel and manganese) steel contains, the more difficult it is to machine.
Hardness of the steel is another decisive factor. Other things being equal, cutting difficulties increase
with hardness. Hardness greater than 350 brinell usually requires special tooling and right machine set‐
ups. Machining of such high hardness material should be limited to finishing only.
Sufides in steel improve machinability because chips break shorter, allowing steel as hard as Rockwell
“C” 45 to be machined successfully. There is however, the possibility that sulfide particles may impair
both mold polish and weld ability.
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What is tool/mould steel?
Here it has concentrated that tool steel ranges as high alloyed types of steel, intended primarily for
purposes such as plastics molding, blanking and forming, die casting, extrusion, forging and
woodworking. Conventional high speed steels and powder metallurgy (PM) steels are also included in
the range. Tool steel is normally delivered in the soft annealed condition. This is to make the material
easy to machine with cutting tools and to give it a microstructure suitable for hardening.
The microstructure consists of a soft matrix in which carbides are embedded. In carbon steel, these
carbides of iron carbide, while in the alloyed steel they are chromium (Cr). Tungsten (W), molybdenum
(Mo) or vanadium (V) carbides, depending on the composition of steel. Carbides are compounds of
carbon and these alloying elements and are characterized by very high hardness. Higher carbide content
means higher resistance to wear. In alloy steels, it is important that the carbides are evenly distributed.
Other alloying elements are also used in tool steel, such as cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), but these do not
form carbides. Cobalt is normally used to improve red hardness in high speed steels, nickel to improve
through – hardening properties.
SURFACE TREATMENT:
NITRIDING: The purpose of nitriding is to increase the surface hardness of the steel and improve its
wear properties. This treatment takes place in a medium (gas or salt) which gives off nitrogen. During
nitriding, nitrogen diffuses into the steel and forms hard, wear resistant nitrides. This result in an
intermetallic surface layer with good wearing and frictional properties.
Nitriding is done in gas at about 510*C (950*F) and in salt or gas at about 570*C (1060*F) or as ion
nitriding, normally at around 500*C (930*F). The process therefore requires steels that are resistant to
tempering in order not to reduce the core strength.
Example of applications:
Nitriding is used in some cases on prehardened plastic moulds in order to prevent indentation
and defects on the parting face. It should be noted, however, that a nitride surface cannot be
machined with cutting tools and can only be ground with difficulty. A nitrided surface will cause
problems in weld repairing as well. Nitriding can also have a stress relieving effect. Heavily
machined parts may, therefore, undergo some distortion during nitriding due to the release of
residual stresses from machining and in such a case, a stress relieving between rough and finish
machining is recommended.
The life of forging dies can be increased by increased by nitriding. It must be noted, though, that
the treatment can give rise to higher susceptibility to cracking in sharp corners. Furthermore,
the edge of the flash land must be given a rounded profile.
Extrusion dies of microdized can be nitrided to advantage‐ especially in the case of aluminum
alloys, Exceptions can be profiled with sharp corners and thin sections of the dies.
NITROCARBURIZING: A widely known method is nitriding in a salt bath. The temperature is normally
570*C (1060*F). Due to aeration the cyanate content of the bath can be better controlled and the
nitriding effect is very good. A nitrocarburizing effect can also be achieved in gas atmosphere at 570*C
(1060*F). The results after these methods are comparable. The total nitriding time must be varied for
different tool types and sizes. In the case of large sizes, the heating time to the specified nitriding
temperature can be considerably longer than in the case of small tools.
ION NITRIDING: This is a new nitriding technology. The method can be summarized as follows: the part
to be nitrided is placed in a process chamber filled with gas, mainly nitrogen. The part forms the cathode
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and the shell of the chamber the anode in an electric circuit. When the circuit is closed, the gas is ionized
and the part is subjected to ion bombardment. The gas servers both as heating and nitriding medium.
The advantages of ion nitriding include a low process temperature and a hard, tough surface layer. The
depth of diffusion is of the same order as with gas nitriding.
CASE HARDENING: In this method, the steel is heated in a medium that gives off carbon (gas, salt or dry
carburizing compound). The carbon diffuses into the surface of material and after hardening this gives a
surface layer with enhanced hardness and wear resistance. This method is used for structural steel, but
is not generally recommended for alloy tool steels.
HARD CHROMIUM PLATING: Hard chromium plating can improve the wear resistance and corrosion
resistance of a tool. Hard chromium plating is done electrolytically. The thickness of the plating is
normally between 0.001 and 0.1mm (0.00004‐0.004inch). It can be difficult to obtain a uniform layer,
especially on complex tools, since projecting corners and edges may receive a thicker deposit than large
flat surfaces or the holes. If the chromium layer is damaged, the exposed steel may corrode rapidly.
Another advantage of the chromium layer is that it greatly reduces the coefficient of friction on the
surface. During the chromium plating process, hydrogen absorption can cause a brittle surface layer.
This nuisance can be eliminate by tempering immediately after plating at 180*C (360*F) for 4 hours.
SURFACE COATING:
Surface coating of tool steel is becoming more common. Not only for cold work applications, but also for
plastic moulds and hot work dies. The hard coating normally consists of titanium nitride and/ or titanium
carbide. The very high hardness and low friction gives a very wear resistant surface, minimizing the risk
for adhesion and sticking. To be able to use these properties in an optimal way one has to choose a tool
steel of high quality or a powder metallurgy manufactured steel as substrate. The two most common
coating methods are:
*PVD coating: performed at 200‐500*C (390‐930*F) (PVD= physical Vapour Deposition).
*CVD coating: performed at about 1000*C (1830*F) (CVD= Chemical Vapour Deposition).
Certain demands are put on the tool steel depending on: coating method, the design of the tool and the
tolerances needed. PVD coating is used for the highest demands on tolerances. When using this method
tool steel with high tempering resistance must be used and the surface coating has to be performed as
the last operation, after the heat treatment. At CVD coating, hardening and tempering are done after
coating. When using the CVD method there is a risk for dimensional changes. The method is therefore
not recommended for tool with requirements of very narrow tolerances. Surface coating of tool and
moulds should be discussed from case to case considering the application, coating method and
tolerance requirements.
MOLD STEEL REQUIREMENTS: Plastic molds require very carefully produced grades of steel of varied
types for successful mold building. Certain qualities are essential in steels in that are to be used for
molds. These are:
Cleanliness: A good mold steel must be clean; it should not contain nonmetallic inclusion which will
cause pitting during polishing.
Soundness: The steel must be dense and free from voids and porosity.
Structure Uniformity: It must be uniform in structure and relatively free from alloy segregations. It also
must be uniform in chemical analysis.
Machinability: The machinability of a grade of steel depends upon the hardness of the steel, its
composition and upon its microstructure. Softness is not necessarily assurance of machinability and
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extreme softness is just as undesirable as extreme hardness. Steels which machine easily and uniformly
are needed for economical mold construction.
Hobbability: Hobbing steels must be very soft when annealed, and be clean and ductile as well. Mild
steel may be hobbed easily, but the specially developed hobbing steels are preferable in that they offer
the maximum of cleanness and uniformly. Ingot iron and the low alloy steels are easiest to hob. The
higher alloy content steels (including carbon steels) offer some difficulty but give the best results in
service.
Hardenability: Good mold steels must acquire the desired hardness in the heat treating process,
uniformity, a strong surface, and a tough, strong core. Ingot iron and low carbon steels will harden in
water, but they may distort and become useless. Alloy steels harden in oil or air and show a minimum
amount of dimensional change during hardening.
Strength & Toughness: Molds requires a hard surface and very tough core the larger the mold, the
greater the core strength needed for resisting distortion of cracking.
Heat treating Safety: An important characteristic of good mold steel is its ability to be hardened
satisfactory in a wide range of sections by a variety of methods while producing uniform results.
Finish: All mold steel must be able to take a mirror like finish easily, although a dull surface is often used
as the desirable final finish.
Water Resistance: Wear resistance is a fundamental requirement of a good general purpose mold steel.
Some of the plastics cause little tool wear, others, such as the glass and asbestos filled compounds,
require the maximum amount of wear resistance.
SELECTING THE STEEL: As the plastics industry developed and presented new materials and molding
methods, larger and larger moldings were developed and the steel makers cooperated by building the
larger facilities required to forge the huge blocks. They also provided stronger and tougher alloys
containing a minimum of impurities available in all the larger size. The steel makers also met the
demand for mold materials that would withstand the effects of corrosive and abrasive plastics in
cooperation with the electroplating industry.
Plate Steel: Plate steel is low carbon steel such as SAE 1020 produced by the open hearth or other
inexpensive processes, where in cleanliness is a less important factor than volume. This material is used
almost exclusively for the frames of molds. Plate steel can be carburized and hardened or case
hardened. It is sometimes used to make cavities and plungers, but this application is not recommended
because of the low core strength of steel and also because structural faults, such as pipe, seams, pits
and other defects, are common to it. Plate steel should not be used for cavities or plungers on any but
the cheapest of the moulds.
There are several qualities of plate steel available and if any pressure is to be concentrated on the plate,
the better grades should be selected. Some mold builders use the cheaper grades of boiler plate for
claiming plates, parallel etc. and the better grades (something like SAE 4140) for the backup plates,
steam plates, or other members on which stresses may be concentrated. This practice requires that a
large inventory of stock be carried, therefore it will be found wiser to use the better grades of plate
throughout. The saving obtained by using the cheaper grades makes a negligible difference in the total
mold cost, as it amounts to only a few cents on the pound. Mold plates are usually made from plate
steel, while knockout bar and pin plates are made from machinery steel bars or cold rolled steel. It is
possible, when stock sizes can be obtained, to use cold rolled steel, unless these parts require finishing,
and in that case, machinery steel would be indicated.
Machinery steel is of the same general class as the SAE 1020 plate steel. The difference is that
machinery steel is hot rolled into flat or square bars and round rods. For many applications these bars
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can be used without any special finish except a surface grinding on both sides to produce flatness. With
the morden cutting torch, it is usually a question of which of these two materials is more readily
available, regardless of specification.
Tool Steel: Tool steel was the first material widely used in the mold making. Some short comings and
disadvantages led to the development of special alloy steels for making plastics modes. Three general
types of tool steel are available water hardening, oil hardening and air hardening.
Tool steel affords only fair mechaniability and it is not suitable for hobbing. After being hardened, a
block of tool steel has nearly the same hardness all the way through, and may lack toughness. As a
result, the mold may tend to break rather than distort when excess pressure is applied. The initial cost of
tool steel is high pressure as early as other steels. This advantage is gained as a result of its being
hardened all the way through. Deep hardening tool steel will give maximum life when properly applied.
Water hardening tool steel may be used when maximum hardness is desired. It distorts considerably
when hardened, therefore ample allowance for correction after hardening must be made. Water
hardening tool steels cannot to be recommended generally for plastics molds.
Oil hardening tool steel and, to a greater extent, air hardening tool steel may be used when distortion
must be held to a minimum and are recommended.
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THE MODERN TECHNIQUE FOR MOULD POLISHING
Until a few years ago, steel moulds for forcing plastic material were super finished by hard, using silicon
carbide and aluminum oxide slurries or in the form of sticks. Even different grades of emery cloths as an
abrasive. Normally 5 to 10 days, could be occupied by a skilled mould maker on a single mould to bring it
to the required finish.
With the advert of powered hand tools and flexible drives to which can be fitted abrasive tools
developed for pre‐ finishing operations. Many of the laborious pre‐ finishing stages have been shortened
to a more tolerable time.
In order that we understand fully the problems of the mold finishing, we should first examine where the
difficulties start. The cavity in the piece of steel which forms the mould is usually shaped by one as four
methods:‐
A hydro coping (or) die sinking machine in which the cutters are change to suit the counter being sunk in
the steel; this leaves numerous ridges.
Where a mound is of the circular type, a lathe is often employed and where slots are required, a milling
machine is used. In both cases, the lathe tool or milling cutter will leave ridges between successive cut.
If identical multiple cavities are required the mold ‘hobbing‘is employed. In case the hob itself is
preferably super finished. Super finished will allow the hob to enter the mold metal more easily as well
as producing on reasonable surface finish in the cavity.
Intricate shapes are often created in molds by spark erosion. This type of mold manufacture leaves a
very hard oxidized surface or scale on the eroded parts of the mold.
These various methods of producing a cavity leave finishing problems but here we are fortunately
assisted with abrasive products specially developed for mould finishing.
The first of these products in the ABRADISC, an aluminous oxide, abrasive, self adhesive, flexible disc. It
is attached to a hard holder for working on relatively flat surface or, alternatively, to a cushioned rubber
holder for contoured surfaces.
ABRADISC is available in strip form, three different diameters and coarse, medium and fine grits.
Two products are offered for the more intricate cavities:‐
ANRACAPS are aluminous oxide covered caps in various shaped mounted on shaped rubber holders.
The seamless ABRACAPS covered with several layers of abrasive, are available in coarse and fine grits,
and are supplied in kit form or individual packs of caps.
Abrasive spindle mounted stones are available in various shapes, the red mounted stones for normal
applications, the sine mounted stones for hardened steel applications. Mounted stones are supplied in
individual packs or introductory kits which include a selection of different shapes.
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The comprehensive range of abrasive stones enables the toolmaker to abrade slots, corners flat
surfaces. They are available in silicon carbide for use on hard steel, in aluminous oxide for used on soft
steels and in resin bonded aluminous oxide for used for spark eroded mould cavities. Special
introductory kits are available to familiarize the mould maker with the quality and capability of the
abrasive stones.
Whilst many of the abrasive products to which we have referred can be driven by hand piece attached
to flexible drives, such as to DIPROFILE machine with its numerous accessories, such as steel and
diamond files, abrasive stones, lapping accessories etc. is a most useful tool for the finishing of moulds.
Once the cavity has been formed and then abraded into its correct contours, it is ready for the polishing
operations.
The areas of the mould can be classified into three categories:‐
Slots and corners
Contours
Flat areas
In dealing with slots and corners, lapping sticks are used as a carrier for the diamond compound. These
can be manipulated by hand or with such tools as we have previously described‐ the DIPROFILE. The
lapping sticks are available in very hard specially laminated wood for coarse lapping or fast cutting
operations, and in soft wood for polishing operations.
To deal with various contours of a mould, wooden bobs and cones – in the same materials as the lapping
sticks – and felt bobs and cones are used with flexible drive machines, once again these items are used
as carrier lapping and the soft materials for final polishing.
The flat areas of a moulds can be lapped and polished using lapping sticks and diamond compound or
with other diamond compound carriers, such as ring finishing equipment. The ABRADISC holders
previously mentioned can also be used for finishing operations by covering with self‐adhesive polishing
cloth impregnated with diamond compound.
Diamond compounds are supplied in a diamond size range from 90 micron (0.004 inch approx.) down to
a superfine 1/10th micron (0.000004 inches approx.). These various grades are color coded for easy
recognition. Using a selection of these grades an operator can progressively abrade the surface of the
mould to arrive at the degree of mould finish required.
The extreme hardness of the diamond enables it to abrade the hardness of steels faster than any other
abrasive. Because of this efficiency only minute amounts of the diamond compound are supplied in
precision, screw meeting dispensers.
To assist the diamond compound in its cutting, lapping and polishing, lubricating fluid, compatible with
the diamond abrasive compounds, is available in liquid or aerosol form.
It is essential when using diamond compounds to avoid contamination from one grade to another. It is
therefore necessary that all laps and tools used with a specific grade of diamond compound should be
stored in a container suitably marked – such as the case – and thus kept separate from any other laps of
an alternative grade.
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Equally as important, the mould being lapped must be thoroughly cleaned between using successive
grade of diamond compounds so that no foreign matter or large particles of diamond from the previous
operation remain when changing to a finer grade of diamond compounds. Cleaning fluid, supplied in
aerosol form is recommended for this operation.
The first operation is normally carried out with a 25 micron grade diamond compound which will
produce a uniform ‘Scratch’ finish on the mould. This operation can be carried out mechanically or by
hand lapping (remembering to use the hand wood laminated laps as described previously). It is
recommended that the areas to lapped is lightly sprayed with lubricating fluid ensuring that the surface
is merely dampened, not excessively wetted.
As the diamond starts cutting a grey or black ‘sludge’ will develop which is indicative of the cutting
action. After an initial period the sludge will cease to develop, this is indication that this area needs
further light lubrication.
When this initial lapping operation is thought to have been completed, the area may be examined, to
ensure that a uniform scratch surface has been achieved, by wiping the surface with clean cotton or
similar material using a degreasing solvent, such as cleaning fluid.
After a satisfactory finish has been obtained the surface is thoroughly cleaned, the cleaning materials
disposed of and all of the laps that have been used with the grade 25 micron diamond compounds are
stored away in the appropriate compartment of the wooden case for future use, as is the practice with
all accessories used with each micron grade of diamond compound to prevent any contamination in
later operation.
Normally this would be the conclusion of this operation prior to the pre‐ polishing stage, but experience
may dictate that this operation be repeated using a 25 micron compound but employing soft wood laps.
The pre‐ polishing operation is to prepare the surface of the mould a further stage with grade 6 micron
diamond compound using soft wood or felt bobs and cones, hand laps etc.
A highly polished surface can be obtained using grade 1 micron diamond compound on felt laps, nylon
brushes, etc. with a high surface speed. The use of brushes is recommended in the polishing of engraved
letters, trademarks, etc in the mould.
When it is intended to chromium plate a mould, finishing with diamond compound prior to plating will
give greater letters, trademarks, etc in the mould.
The benefits of polishing plastics mould with diamond compound are numerous, some of which are
summarized as follows:‐
Superior product finish
Facilities the flow of liquid plastic within the mould.
Speeds ejection of product from the mould tool.
Localized attack by liquid plastic is avoided by uniform surface finish of the mould tool.
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These technical benefits resulting in the more efficient use of injection moulding tools and the reduction
in mould finishing times (which with today’s ever increasing labour cost is equally important) readily
confirm the economic of diamond compound of mould tools.
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MOULD MAINTENANCE AND COST ESTIMATION
General Tips for Mould Maintenance
Maintain core & cavity surface finish, polish once in 2 weeks, or as necessary depending on
material type & service conditions.
Guide pillars & bushes to be checked for play & misalignment, replace once in six months.
Fasteners to be retightened periodically.
Side core & splits, alignment, actuations & locations to be checked & maintained as per mould
design & construction.
Check for parting line dents, damages, cracks, scratches etc.
Mould handling equipment & accessories to be checked.
Heaters & thermocouples to be checked frequently & replaced/ repaired as necessary.
Mould design feature like feed system, ejection system etc to be checked for smooth operation.
Retain last shot with the mould, to know the condition of the mould.
Any unusual sound, vibrations to be attended promptly.
For extended storage of moulds, clean the mould working areas & apply petroleum jelly / anti
rusting grease to avoid corrosion.
Check all supporting accessories for smooth & trouble free operation of mould.
Check with mould designers check list for any special instructions.
OPTIMISTIC JOB PLANNING FOR MOULD MAKING
Mould Design
Mould Material Selection and
Procurement
Basic mould plate Size
Basic Machining of
machining round/ turning part
Punch cavity fabrication Heat treatment of all
parts
Back plates, holding plate etc. machining
Maintaining finish sizes of
all above parts
Polishing of Punch & cavity
Mould assembly
Rectification if required
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Mould Trail
MOULD COST ESTIMATION
A. RAW MATERIAL COST
Steel cost
Special steels for core & cavity / inserts
Copper/ electrode cost
Others
B. MACHINING COST
Conventional machines Lathe
Milling
Cylindrical & surface Grinding
E D M
Hard fitting / finishing
Others
C. CNC MACHINING COST
CNC LATHE
CNC MILLING
CNC EDM
CNC WIRECUT
OTHERS
D. INSPECTION & ASSEMBLY
E. POLISHING COST
F. MOULD TRIAL COST
G. OVERHEADS/PROFIT