Turnkey intelligent moulds
Rapid mass production of identical products has given way to demand for smaller batches of customer-defined pieces, yet customers do not want to wait longer or pay more for these items. Unfortunately, producing custom-made moulds and then setting up and controlling the process parameters to ensure parts that are of high quality and structurally consistent is no easy task. Further, with an increasing number of mould changes daily to accommodate production of small batches, much time and material is wasted in a trial-and-error set-up procedure. Turnkey intelligent moulds with sensors in the moulding machine providing continuous monitoring and feedback would provide process optimisation and control seamlessly. With funding from the EU, the 'Intelligent mold for productivity enhancement' (MOLD4PRODE) project developed a design tool to enable fast delivery of smart moulds that do the job quickly and effectively. The knowledge-based system built on extensive process data suggests the optimal type and location of sensors within the mould for plastic injection. It applies data processing technology to information collected from virtual sensors implemented in a computer-aided design model of the mould. In this way, the system understands the way the mould behaves, producing a digital tool signature. It is available as a WebTool application on the project website, as are five training modules on its usage. MOLD4PRODE has provided an important tool to help mould makers become part of a knowledge-based service industry, a key pillar of increased competitiveness. The end users of the moulds will benefit from decreased scrap, energy consumption and time-to-delivery of new products.
Keywords
Intelligent moulds, plastic injection moulding, mass production, custom-made moulds, smart moulds
