CNC dies milling

Milling of dies requires adaptation of the technology to a specific type of material. Tool steel for hot work ensures very high plasticity while high die resistance to mechanical wear. Dies made of hard, hardened and tempered materials in the 45-56HRc range – difficult to machine – used for hot work in injection molding, pressure casting and forging process as well as elements for cold work – dies for forging or stamping, tempered hardness over 60HRC requires the use of tools made of sintered carbide, as well as tools coated with hardening coatings. The tools have a varied profile of the cutting part, very often specially adapted, enabling obtaining surfaces of any shape. The main characteristic properties necessary for machining in the die milling process are deep pockets and appearances with sloping walls, rounded edges and radial transitions between surfaces.

Die processing

The matrix defines all parts of a mold having a recess shape in the technique with a prepared pattern for forming the surface of a given element. The term applies to all types of molds used in industry, both in foundry techniques, stamping and forging. Matrices are used in most industries, ranging from the food industry, automotive, aviation, pharmaceutical industry to coinage. Without the use of matrices, it would not be possible to make commonly used everyday objects. Due to the nature of the work, the dies must be made of appropriate materials, mainly steels and aluminum alloys are used, but there is also a justified use of magnesium and polymers.

Milling mold dies depending on the material used and the degree of complexity requires the use of machines, tools and software that meet specific requirements. During the production of prototype matrices, aluminum alloy material is used. This fact results from lower costs of machining, and the stages of prototype verification necessitate the need to introduce changes and make the next version of the matrix.

Aluminum milling requires high cutting speeds, high feed rates and conditions that prevent chips from sticking in the cutting area. Tools used for milling aluminum dies should be very sharp without hardening coatings and additionally the cutting zone must be well cooled by supplying cooling emulsions. The complicated shape of the surface necessitates the use of CAM software to prepare matrix milling technology. CAMWORKS processing support software has advanced functions for generating intelligent machining strategies dedicated to rough milling.

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