Companies affiliated to DutchForm are able to offer a solution to the most diverse requirements and demands.
Each DutchForm company is a specialist in the field of tool and mould making, (casting) models, (injection moulding) moulds and / or stamping dies and related products from metal, plastic and/or wood.
On top of that, everything is becoming more and more rapid! Ranging from extremely small objects of an unparalleled precision to models the size of a car, from flexible parts to stainless steel, from casting moulds to multicoloured models, almost everything seems possible with rapid prototyping nowadays. For techniques such as 3D printing, SLA, FDM, SLS and Polyjet, you can also approach a number of DutchForm members.
The companies will be happy to discuss your plans with you from idea to production!
Engineering is an important part of the development of prototypes or the design and specification of models, moulds, tools and products. The cost price of a design/product is usually determined during the development phase. Many affiliated companies are used to conducting the engineering process from idea to product, also to determine whether a design will be a commercial success.
For example, 3D scanners are being used more and more often for reverse engineering. A 3D scanner can easily check all sizes.
The shape of a product can also be easily compared with your own CAD-drawing. In addition, a 3D scanner can be used to generate a CAD-drawing for an existing product if this drawing has been lost. The technique can also be used for several applications such as quality control, archiving, analysis of competitive products, the manufacture of products/moulds etc.
Are you looking for a stamping die or tool?
To have a stamping die or tool made, you can approach one of the many toolmakers affiliated to DutchForm. You can also go to them for repairs, revision, an alteration or maintenance.
A stamping die is a tool with which products can be stamped from coil or sheet material. The material to be stamped can vary from paper to metal. It is possible to make parts in separate operations where the product breaks loose from the strip in step 1 or in a progressive stamping die in which several operations can be carried out successively. This includes cutting, bending and tapping. If there are several phases in a stamping die, locating pins need to be built in to position the strip. The quality of a die-cut product is generally dependent on the cutting gap, the sharpness of the cutter, the punch plate and the strip layout.
There are various kinds of die stamping tools in different sizes including
- Cutting dies
- Bending dies
- Progressive cutting dies
- Progressive-cutting-bending dies
- Deep drawing dies
- Exchange kit
- Punching dies
- Testing dies
Mould making
Are you looking for a mould or matrix?
If you would like to have a mould or a matrix made, you can approach one of the many mould makers affiliated to DutchForm.
A mould, two or three dimensional, is something in which or with which something acquires a specific shape. Moulds may be used just once or several times.
A plaster mould for casting bronze is an example of a mould that can be used several times.
A mould with which only one “item” can be made; for example, due to the fact that the mould becomes one with the object, as is the case with a lost formwork or with moulding sand, although this cannot really be called a mould.
Moulds for thermoforming
Thermoforming, also known as vacuum forming, is a non-traditional machining process and is comparable to forging. It involves heating a plastic sheet until it reaches its pliable forming temperature.
Thermoforming is a process which forms products from flat plastic sheets. All materials that can be softened through heating (thermoplastics) can be used in the thermoforming process. In the thermoforming process, a distinction is made between forming with a thin (0.2 – 1.5mm) or with a thick foil. In the case of the thinner foils, the various phases of the process are generally integrated into one machine. With the thick foils, the various stages of the process are usually carried out successively.
A matrix or mould is a hollow mould. The cavity in the mould forms the shape of the required product. How and from what material a mould is made is dependent on the product that is going to be made with it. The products to be made may be from plastic, metal, ceramics or glass. These materials are injected or poured into the mould in a molten state (heated where necessary). Once they have cooled down, the product can be removed from the mould. Earthenware can also be formed in a mould in the same way as bronze bells, for example. Making a mould is a highly skilled job in the mechanical design techniques.
Injection moulding moulds
Injection moulding is a design technique for thermoplastics, thermosets and metals with a lower melting point. The injection moulding process involves heating, melting and injecting plastic in granulate or powder form under high pressure into a mould.
The plastic solidifies once it has cooled down and then you have the required product. Injection mouding is one of the most frequently used design techniques for plastic parts. Injection moulding moulds can, depending on the complexity, be very expensive to make, but by producing a large number of products, the unit price can remain low, meaning that the product becomes economically interesting. Injection moulding is not usually suitable for the production of smaller numbers. The design of injection moulding moulds is a skill in itself. When designing a mould, you not only have to take into consideration the shape of the product, but also the properties of the plastic to be used. As around half of the cycle consists of the cooling down of the plastic, a great deal of attention is paid to this, particularly the shrinkage and the prevention of deformations associated with this. A good alternative to injection moulding are, for example, the techniques involved in Rapid Prototyping.
BLOW Moulds
Blow moulds are used for products with hollow shapes, such as bottles, pots and jerrycans. During production, the plastic is heated and extruded into a hollow tube. This tubular form is then clamped into place in a two-part mould and compressed air is blown into it.
Mould for high pressure die casting
The high pressure die casting process forces molten metal at high speed and high pressure into a metal mould. The tool consists of 2 vertical platens with supports that hold the two halves of the mould in place. It contains a stationary part and a moving part so that the mould can open and close. A certain amount of metal is poured into the injection tube. This is then forced into the mould using a hydraulic plunger. As soon as the metal cools off and solidifies, the mould can be opened and the cast product can be taken out. Special precautionary measures need to be taken during this process to avoid gas inclusions that can lead to blisters on the cast product. The machine and the moulds are quite expensive and that is also the reason why pressure die casting is only advantageous for high volume serial products.
Model maker
Serial-produced castings require a model made from wood, plastic or metal, while EPS models are often chosen for one-off castings. Casting models are the basis for the mould. Production is possible in various materials and qualities. Wood is still the most preferred material in model and mould construction. Mould builders can make the most beautiful moulds with this. Nowadays, however, more and more seamless models are required to avoid the outlines of underlying constructions. In addition, the tolerances are becoming smaller and smaller. Wood can shrink or swell under the influence of moisture and temperature which is why we opt more often for synthetic resins or block material. In a number of cases, polystyrene foam is also used. The abbreviation “EPS” stands for Expandable Polystyrene foam. The relatively cheap material combined with easy processing with a cutting or milling machine, the excellent pressure resistance and the low weight, make it a unique basis for 2 and 3 dimensional moulds and models.
With epoxy paste seamlessly from project to model and mould
A number of DutchForm members offer an improved level of quality for making seamless models and moulds. ‘Se-Mo’ stands for ‘Seamless Models/Moulds’. This production method entails the use of a model paste instead of block materials. Working with block materials is a classical method. For some applications this isn’t a problem, but if you have just bought a new car or caravan, an annoying line in the surface really is extremely irritating. A seam as surface defect in a model will therefore be passed on to auxiliary tools and again subsequently 1:1 to the product. If you wish to eliminate seams as a source of defects, you have to start working seamlessly. This is the underlying principle behind Se-Mo. In general, the defects resulting from seams are not even geometrically measurable. But they do result in the annoying light disturbances or reflections mentioned above that are not acceptable. Apart from this, defects in the shape, resulting from sanding activities, can also arise that may have adverse effects on, for example, aerodynamic qualities. In the meantime, the paste method has been developing continually. Epoxy paste is also becoming more and more of a tool. At first, this paste was used for styling models. Then as paste for mother models, the so-called ‘plugs’. And now you see that epoxy has become a tooling-paste. As material for a mould or matrix with which a product acquires its shape, for example. Such as a mould made from aluminium that is filled with epoxy model paste which can be used for the processing of carbon fibre.
Cire perdue
When using the lost wax casting method (cire perdue), the original model is lost as the name suggests. For the most common variant of this method, wax is used. Lost wax casting is the most common name for this process. The name cire perdue is also used. This method yields very good results. The surface quality and accuracy are of such a high level that final processing is hardly necessary or not at all.
Before casting, a wax model is constructed of the final casting. Various methods have been developed for this. Mould making produces very consistent results and is therefore one of the most commonly used methods. The casting makes it possible to process materials that are difficult to work with. Rapid prototyping is certainly an option with this technique. Particularly as a wax model can also be produced using a similar technique. In order to remove the product from the mould cavity, this has to be broken. A new wax model and a new mould cavity are needed for each casting. This makes the technique labour-intensive and expensive. A variant of the above-mentioned technique is the lost foam process. The model is produced from polystyrene foam. Instead of a thick ceramic layer, a thin layer is applied. The entire model is covered in foundry sand and it is then cast. This process is very similar to sand casting, except that there is no joint or burr. The foam model disintegrates owing to the extreme heat of the material. The escaping gases are absorbed by the foundry sand. This method is used for the production of larger models.
Concrete
In addition to making visual simulation models and casting moulds for ferrous and non-ferrous applications (metal or plastic), the model makers can make casting moulds for (prefab) concrete objects and the construction industry. So-called concrete moulds or formworks are used for this. A casting mould or formwork is a temporary mould or reverse mould in which the concrete is poured. The mould holds the concrete and, as a rule, also the reinforcement in place during the pouring and curing. This mould may be made from various materials such as wood, plastic or steel. When the concrete is cured, the formwork will generally be removed and, in the case of a system formwork, will be used again. Examples of formwork that can be re-used and are therefore removed are: tunnel formwork, traditional wooden formwork, system formwork and sliding formwork. In the case of sliding formwork, it is possible to build lift shafts or silos tens of metres high (with a continual uniform diameter) in a matter of weeks. With this technique, building is continuous; as soon as the concrete becomes hard, the formwork is pulled up higher. Sometimes, the formwork is not removed after use. This is known as lost formwork. This is often applied in the case of: formwork for steel tubular piles, floor edge formwork, pile head formwork, slab floor formwork and prefab concrete moulds for the civil engineering sector.
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