PROBLEM
Thermotech (since acquired by Plasman) designs and manufactures injection molded electrical and mechanical components and assemblies. The company needed to improve the release properties of several molds used to form precise cylindrical bobbins for electronic solenoids. These parts contain a tiny wire-retaining slot with extremely tight tolerances (±.001-inch). Low draft in the wire slot was causing “pulling” problems and slowing production.
Solution
Tooling engineer Harvey Bruce tried several commercial coatings, from spray-on release agents to commercial “diamond-like” coatings, with little success. “The spray-on release agent required a recoat every 8,000 shots, and the commercial coatings peeled, chipped, and wore off,” Bruce says. I really needed something better and more durable.” That’s when Bruce asked Phygen about FortiPhy™ XVD technology
It really is possible
Phygen applied a custom-tuned layer of FortiPhy XVD to the working surface of the mold. After a few production runs, Bruce saw the results he wanted. The release problem was solved, and the tight ±.001-inch tolerance was preserved. Even better, mold wear properties were improved, and the mold vents were no longer being corroded by gas burn.
tolerance preserved
Productivity Improvement
“After using FortiPhy XVD, gas vents that used to be destroyed after 8,000 shots showed no corrosion after more than 50,000 shots.”