TABLE OF CONTENTS Standard mould parts are used extensively in almost all modern injection mould tools. Only a few special-purpose tools are constructed from scratch without taking advantage of all the standard components available. Even these tools would have a small number of standard parts in them such as guide pillars, ejector pins and liner bushes.
The advantages of using standard mould parts are considerable. Some of the major advantages are listed below:
Components are usually available ex stock.
Quality is guaranteed.
Parts are made to close tolerances, so accurate interchangeability is assured.
A wide variety of sizes and materials is available.
Standard parts cost less to buy than they would to make in a toolroom.
Using standard parts enables toolmakers to concentrate on making the cavity inserts and other custom parts.
Using standard parts cuts down delivery times for tool manufacture.
Toolrooms can produce more mould tools than they could otherwise.
Replacement parts are easy to obtain and fit, making maintenance easier.
CAD-compatible software from standard parts suppliers is available for reducing design times.
There is a vast array of standard components that may be purchased off the shelf. A few of the major items are listed next.
Complete bolster sets are available over a wide range of different sizes and materials. Ejector and stripper plate versions can be purchased and, recently, mould base sets with integral sets of splits and three-plate tools have been added to the range.
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