MOLDMAKER

[ferrer]

what are the necessary elements to start a new business making mold or part to molds?

[AMCNitro]

My background is in moldmaking, thats how my dad taught me machining.  Mold making is a lot more involved than making parts, it takes experience in mold making plus experience in machining. Theres shrinkage to account for, slides, ejector pins, waterlines, types of gates, shape of runners... You should ask more specific questions.

[mkd]

customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jayson Kramer]

well for starters if you are used to making parts , there is a lot of transition.  Are you designing the tooling being the molds. who is factoring in for shrinkage. Are we talking Plastic or wax investment or die cast. you are going to be cutting the reverse image of the part as you cut cavity and cores in most cases.
Did we talk about complex parting lines. there are a lot of factors.

 

My 2 cents

[Bob W.]

Thermally stable machine.  Quality tool holders.  Level 3 Mastercam.  CAD package (Solidworks, ProE, etc...) is a big plus.  CMM.  All capabilities needed to run lights out (tool break detection, tool setting, etc...).  Aside from the know-how, these are the things you need.

[Del.]

mmmm, how about workers who know what they are doing.

[AMCNitro]

customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes!! That too! Very important!

[jeff]

what are the necessary elements to start a new business making mold or part to molds?

Money

[The Cathedral]

wheat, salt, yeast, water, patience and time.

[Mike@Lustre]

friend of mine is a mold maker and another guy I know  owns a shop that does injection molds , they both rely on solidworks  for design and MC for programming .

 

as for machinery the shop my buddy works at is still using machines that where on the floor when he started there 30yrs ago .

[tiredtoolmaker]

Good luck on competing with the Chinese...they've shut down about every shop I know.

[billystein]

in my case i need a fork lift, big joe, steel table that will hold 2000 lbs and a surface plate tthat holds 2000 lbs. an edm sinker and another 6 x 12 surface grinder. 

[crazy^millman]

customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paying customers. Can have all he PO's you want and complete all the work you want, but if people are not paying or paying in 90 to 120 days real hard to stay in business. We have a project we started back in May and still have not got final payment on work finished almost 3 months ago. Multi-Billion companies get that way off the back of smaller businesses. They will let you be their bank and sit on the money to get that extra little bit of interest.

[PAnderson]

Paying customers. Can have all he PO's you want and complete all the work you want, but if people are not paying or paying in 90 to 120 days real hard to stay in business. We have a project we started back in May and still have not got final payment on work finished almost 3 months ago. Multi-Billion companies get that way off the back of smaller businesses. They will let you be their bank and sit on the money to get that extra little bit of interest.

 

This is why I am not a moldmaker anymore. This and the other comment about the Chinese shutting down almost every shop I was familiar with in the Chicago area.

[MrFish]

We used to make half a dozen large die casting tools every year, haven't even quoted one in the last 18 months. The Chinese are getting really good at both the mold making and casting of the parts and with government backed material purchasing and shipping it is nearly impossible to compete.

We can produce tools to the same deadlines and quality (actually better in most cases) than the Chinese but when their raw materials cost 20% of what we pay your already way too far on the back foot.

[Mike@Lustre]

Good luck on competing with the Chinese...they've shut down about every shop I know.

Yes and no they have most of the market due to North American companies moving their businesses over there to make maximum profits . There are two small shops that still produce molds locally to my area , and they both have felt the crunch from the offshore supply , 1 actually is making molds to send over there for parts to be produced . The other supports a few businesses that do injection molds . I think both these shops stay alive due to the fact they will produce a mold and then produce the parts for you as well .