Delcam will demonstrate the latest release of its PS-Moldmaker mould design software at the Diemould India exhibition to be held in Mumbai from 28th February to 2nd March. PS-Moldmaker provides a powerful, highly-automated system that will allow designers of injection mould tools to move from processes based on two-dimensional drawings to new methods based on three-dimensional computer models.

PS-Moldmaker offers a broader solution than other similar systems, both through the inclusion of catalogues from a wider range of standard component suppliers and through the inclusion of a range of Wizards to automate many parts of the design process. Most importantly, PS-Moldmaker is fully integrated with Delcam’s PowerSHAPE hybrid modelling program. PowerSHAPE provides a wide range of tools to repair any problems with the component design, including missing, duplicate, overlapping or poorly-trimmed surfaces, before work begins on the mould design.

Combining the two programs also gives PS-Moldmaker the unique ability to produce non-standard components or mechanisms by allowing the user to exit from the automated process at any stage, carry out some manual adjustment to the design within PowerSHAPE, and then return to the automatic methods to complete the mould. This means that users can benefit from the speed and simplicity of the high level of automation, and can also produce exactly the results they want, without any restriction on the size or complexity of the work that they can undertake.

Using PS-Moldmaker and PowerSHAPE allows companies to move from a two-stream system, where the core and cavity are designed and manufactured by one team using three-dimensional methods and the components making up the rest of the mould are produced by a second group using two-dimensional drawing and machining techniques. Instead, the whole mould can be developed entirely in three dimensions by a single team using a single software system.

While moving to three-dimensional design may offer some time savings in the creation of the mould design, much more significant improvements can be made through eliminating mistakes during both design and manufacture. Realistic representations of the individual components and computer simulations of the mould’s operation will help ensure that the mould will operate as expected.

At the same time, the automation of routine and repetitive operations will minimise calculation errors, while the use of computer models is less prone to errors in dimensions and positions than using drawings. Direct links from PS-Moldmaker to Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM software ensure highly reliable machining of both holes and pockets. In addition, each component can be inspected as it is produced, so allowing any problems to be resolved immediately and ensuring that the final assembly of the mould proceeds smoothly.

Public Relations Manager
Direct phone: 44 (0)121 683 1081 e-mail: marketing@delcam.com
Delcam plc
Small Heath Business Park,
Birmingham, B10 0HJ, UK
www.delcam.co.uk