MOLD DESIGN

[spaggioli]

WE ARE LOOKING TO FIND THE BEST DESIGN PACKAGE FOR PLASTIC INJECTION MOLD DESIGN. EASE OF USE/AND SHORT LEARNING CURVE
ARE A MUST. THE ABILITY TO USE 3D MODELS IS ALSO NEEDED.
FEEL FREE TO SHARE SUCCESS AND HORROR STORIES.

 

[johnr]

Try UG or I-DEAS. I worked in tool design using I-DEAS and found it to be an excellent package - very powerful in 3D Solid Modelling, problem is it does take some learning and its surfacing ability is quite poor. UG looks about the best but I haven't used it myself, other people in my company use it and say it is great.

 

I am using I-Deas for part and mold design.
Telling the truth it is a good software for regular mechanical shapes, as soon as you need a simple surface forget about it, also spliting core and cavity you have hard time.Generative machinig is the worst cnc prog. that I ever used. Installing and administrating I-Deas you have to have "master degree". Now that SDRC id sold to EDS (Unigraphics) it is a dead end software i think.
I-Deas is not a program build for moldmaking, some use it like in my company but I fint it not user friendly to work with and not suitable for molds.

 

[dhuffy]

There are numerous packages available and people tend to migrate to one or the other. Some packages are better in certain areas than others but neither one is THE BEST. Other options than the ones listed above are Pro/E, Solid Works, Top Mold, etc...

I would recommend evaluating the packages yourself and test them on the type of molds you produce rather than taking someone else's word for it. It will be worth the time and effort to ensure that you get the software that serves YOUR purpose. Good luck.

Dave

 

[spaggioli]

DHUFFY,

I agree with you about the evaluation of a system.
The information I was looking for was others experiences
With some of these system as we are a small mold design
Department and need to weed some of the worst players out.
A lot of these packages look great on the surface but when
You get down to the nuts and bolts they fall apart for various
Reasons sometimes just due to the type of work we do.
With us being a small mold design department we
Don’t have the resources to evaluate them in house for as long
of a period as I would believe is necessary.

 

[hementerprise]

WE ARE IN PRODUCT AND MOULD DESIGN FIELD SINCE LAST 8 YEARS. WE ARE USINNG INDUSTRY BEST CAD CAM SOFTWARE FOR DESIGNING.

CAN CONTANCT US AT - hementerprise@rediffmail.com

 

[Oesterle]

DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ADD ON PACKAGES TO SOLIDWORKS? WE ARE CURRENTLY USING SOLIDWORKS TO DESIGN PARTS AND MOLDS. I WANT TO FIND A PACKAGE THAT WORKS MORE EFFICIENT (EG AUTOMATIC PL CREATION ASO)
THANKS

 

[JDone]

Oesterle,

Try the SolidWorks add on packages MoldWorks and SplitWorks. SplitWorks provides an automated core and cavity creation process based on your model. MoldWorks provides an automated mold creation based on this data. It pull from a standard library of molds that you buy as part of the package. You might also look into ElectrodeWorks for electrode creation. These packages run seamlessly from within the SolidWorks environment.

 

[Soupcat]

We (Moulddesigner Ireland) use I-DEAS for cavity/core splitting and take these into the I-DEAS drafting package which in my view is the best in the market, I can quickly section and dimension any view with relatively little effort. I pull in 2D dxf's of the relative plates from DME, DMS, HASCO or whatever supplier the toolmaker requires me to. Toolmakers will always want 2D prints in my opinion, I honestly can't see how else they can operate?! Do you have a PC at the end of every toolmaker bench for lifting sizes of a 3D model? 2D Layouts showing hole pitches, depths, ground forms etc are the easiest way. We can turnaround mould designs very cheaply and quickly using this system.

Kieran Fegan
Director

http://www.moulddesigner.com

kieran@moulddesigner.com