Mold Life Tracking in MES Systems

The basis of industrialization is the production of products in accordance with standards within certain tolerances and the seamless interchangeability of these products.

Scientific research is carried out to produce these products quickly and economically, and the results obtained are used in the emergence of new production techniques or the development of existing ones. Molding, which can be defined as the creation of a product by compressing liquid or solid raw material in a geometry with certain shapes and dimensions, is used as the most suitable method for the rapid and economical production of many products with the desired properties.

The fact that the size and shape of the manufactured part can be as precise as the mold geometry can show and can never exceed it is at the center of all the efforts spent for the development of this sector

Due to the rapid development of computer technology and its effect on production processes, the mold industry has made a great progress, and parts that were previously unthinkable to be produced with molds have become very easy to produce for the mold industry today. In parallel with this process, the development of the machines and measuring techniques used in mold manufacturing and the ability to control them with computers have opened a new era for the sector.

Today, computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing have become the foundation of the modern mold industry. In this way, defect-free molds are produced at the first time with minimum cost and offered to the service of the industry. The ability to perform engineering calculations such as stress-strain analysis, heat transfer, etc. with computers, observation of real working conditions by simulation and advances in material science increase the life of the mold produced and further diversify the service areas of the sector.

Among the sectors that use the products of the mold industry, which is one of the cornerstones of mass production and industrialization, the automotive, white goods, plastics, rubber and tire industry, cable industry, metal, aluminum, glass and glassware, electronics, defense and textile industries come first.

In general, the device that produces identical parts within the desired size limits and in the shortest time, helps to keep material consumption and manpower to a minimum and can work with machine tools is called a mold.

Molds are classified according to their workmanship and quality. These can be briefly defined as type A, type B and type C molds.

Type A Mold: These are high-precision molds of progressive or transfer mold type, with automatic transfer system, open or closed (air-conditioned, air-cooled) transfer system and high precision. They generally manufacture very sensitive parts whose operations cannot be completed in one press.

Type B Mold: These molds are used in the production of sheet metal parts that are generally formed in printing, are relatively large in size and have slightly lower precision. They can have cam, core, hydraulic and pneumatic drive systems. 'Serial processing machines', in which the mold and the machine are integral (with a coupling), can also be included in this group.

C and D Type Molds: These are low molds with a production number of less than 100,000, relatively coarse tolerances, cast body and can be sold by the kilo.

These are the molds in which the most plastic types are produced according to the intended use. The plastic raw material melted in the injection furnace is injected into the mold with high pressure. The plastic that cools in the mold takes the shape of the mold. With this method, plastic parts can be produced in very precise dimensions. Inappropriate products can be recycled and shaped again. Products with low fault tolerance are produced. It can be monitored with MES solutions.

In such molds, unlike injection molds, thermoset and composite plastics are cooked under high heat and pressure to form the shape of the mold. Overflow burrs are formed during production. These burrs are cleaned by applying processes such as cabineting, sanding and vibration. Plastics shaped by this method cannot be recycled.

Example products: Bakelite electrical materials, melamine plates, ashtrays, etc. Can be tracked with MES solutions.

In this molding method, the sheet produced from plastics in the thermoplastic group is heated and sucked onto the mold with vacuum, allowing the product to take its form. It can be followed with MES solutions.

The best example of these products are bottles. As the molten plastic flows from the furnace in the form of a pipe. It is trapped between the mold and inflated inside the mold by giving compressed air into it from a point. The plastic that cools in the mold takes the shape of the mold. It can be followed with MES solutions.

The plastic melted in the extrusion furnace is continuously flowed through the mold and cooled with air or water at the mold exit. Window and door profiles, hoses, cables, etc. are produced with this method. Can be monitored with MES solutions. 

Used for the production of soft metals such as aluminum and zamak. The same method is used as plastic injection molds. It differs from plastic injection molds with runner inlets and overflow pockets. Production is made in two types of injection presses as hot chamber and cold chamber. Can be followed with MES solutions

It is used for shaping sheet metal and metal plates. Mass production of sheet metal and metal parts is ensured by performing operations such as punching, cutting and plastering on the sheet metal in suitable press machines with punches placed appropriately in the mold. It can be followed with MES solutions.

By heating the metals and pressing them between a mold, it is ensured that the metal takes the shape of the mold.

When you decide to have a mold made, you must first do some feasibility studies. These are factors that directly affect the cost of the mold, such as the type of plastic to be used in the production of the product, the degree of precision in the dimensions of the product, and the surface gloss of the mold.

In the parts to be produced, attention should be paid to details such as reverse tabs and angles and thin wall thickness as much as possible. These are factors that directly affect the mold cost. A reverse tab required in the part can double the cost of the mold.

It is best to get support from a professional designer in this regard, to have three-dimensional solid models of the product created in a computer environment and to go to the mold maker.

Nowadays, prototyping techniques are highly developed, and if you have a prototype product made after having the product modeled in a computer environment, you will prevent the company that will make the mold from being wrong in pricing and the changes and corrections that can be made later in the product design, as a result of unaccounted additional time and costs. It can be tracked with MES solutions.

Although molds can work very fast, they are often stopped for malfunctions and repairs. By controlling and monitoring the molds in the MES System; planned and preventive maintenance will become feasible and sustainable.

Since MES allows for downtime tracking, mold failures are minimized and downtime in production is reduced. Thus, production efficiency is ensured to be as high as possible.

If we take plastic injection molds as an example, products with low unit profit margin are produced in series. You have to produce and ship quality products in very high quantities so that you can be profitable at the end of the day.

Incomplete filling is common. It is melted and the mold is too cold. Or the product is burning and the mold is too hot this time. The ironing pressure is too low and the product shows signs of depression. If the ironing pressure is too high, the product will jam. If the injection time and mold filling time do not match, product jamming occurs again. If the part is too hot, it will stick to the mold. If the injection is slow, the mold is cold, the screw speed and pressure are low, flow marks are formed in the product. The material is blocked at the mold inlet and the granules are moistened. Injection pressure is too high and burr formation occurs. Nozzle and barrel temperature is high and causes yellowing. When mold design errors such as narrow air ducts, incorrect location of the ducts, requiring auxiliary vacuum are added, this list becomes even longer.

In a sector with a narrow profit margin, where thousands of quality products must be produced and shipped without stopping, these stoppages and the equipment that cause these stoppages should be managed with planned maintenance, life tracking, and even integrated with the quality and maintenance modules in MES Systems, and the number of all these faulty products and the maintenance and repair work carried out to eliminate them should be managed and recorded so that they can be managed properly.

All critical equipment (inserts, etc.), especially the mold, are ID'd and on which machine, which work order is being worked on in the production area. Which operator worked on the machine where the mold was installed. How long it was used. Which work orders were worked on in which shifts. How long is left until the completion of the recommended usage period in the datasheet. Is planned maintenance required and has it been done? By tracking, managing and recording all of these, critical equipment with serious costs such as mold insert tools etc. can be used more effectively.

Assuming that you are an automotive sub-industry plastic parts manufacturer, for example, an average of 1-1.5 million units will be produced for 5-6 years for a model. The mold must operate with minimum error and malfunction during this period. Mold failure or interventions that need to be made to the mold interrupt production. Even 10 years after the end of model production, that mold must be suitable for product production. It is important to know how much mold life is left and how long it can be operated for the future.