Cap compression molding tools polishing
For food, beverage & packaging industries
The client is a manufacturer of machinery and consumables for cap compression molding. They are leaders in injection and compression molding machinery.
THE PROBLEM
Before contacting GPAINNOVA, the company relied for their polishing processes on a combination of automated surface finishing and manual polishing due to the lack of an automated polishing method capable of achieving the required level of quality and precision. As a result, a final manual polishing step was necessary.
However, manual polishing poses certain challenges. It involves the use of abrasive tools such as brushes, felts, and polishing compounds, leading to inconsistent finishes across tool sets and presenting a higher risk of tool deformation, size, or geometry alteration. Consequently, this situation leads to escalated labor costs and prolonged polishing time.
THE GOAL
The company sought ways to enhance the production capacity and quality of punch tools for compression molds. To achieve higher quality and extended lifecycles, the customer required a polished finish on the tooling, which would ultimately lead to reduced press downtime.
The polishing target focused on achieving a mirror surface finish and a substantial reduction in roughness, aiming for an Ra goal of 0.05 micrometers while ensuring the radius of the external and internal sharp edges remained below 0.015 mm.
THE SOLUTION
To achieve the aforementioned goal, GPAINNOVA designed a custom fixture to securely hold the pieces during the process. This fixture was meticulously engineered to eliminate the occurrence of shadows, thus preventing any potential damage to the parts due to impacts. Moreover, it was optimized to maximize the equipment’s capacity per cycle (the recommended equipment had the capability to process up to 32 punches in each cycle). Thanks to DLyte, GPAINNOVA’s engineers successfully replaced the customer’s previous approach, which involved a combination of mechanical polishing using nutshell media and manual mechanical polishing.
This outdated method was substituted with an automated and cost-effective process that guarantees consistent, repeatable, and predictable outcomes across different batches of parts.
Are you interested in learning about the production increase, the comparison of previous and current costs per piece, or how DLyte can boost your business? Download now our free case study!
TECHNICAL BENEFITS
01. Geometry and tolerance preservation & homogeneous results across the piece
02. Best-in-class concerning surface roughness (Ra under 0.05 micrometers)
03. Stable results among different batches within the electrolyte lifespan
04. Longer lifespan for treated parts
05. Biocompatibility and non-cytotoxicity proved
OPERATIONAL BENEFITS
01. Reduced footprint
02. Time and cost reduction
03. Exposure of workers during process and maintenance
04. Handling and storage of media
05. No need for multistep processes
06. Easy waste management
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