August 4, 2009

Prototype Designing

Filed under: category — Tags: , — admin @ 2:25 am

The employment of laser machining for making plastic injection molds has been available for years, but has only received limited approval. This is partly due to the doubt of the new technology and the cost of the machines.

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However, for the right application, laser machining is a particularly usable option. With the latest generation of precision laser cutting machines, there are numerous enhancements. Cutting speeds have increased, accuracy has improved, surface finishes are better, and the cost has come down.

How can laser machining help a mold maker?

Precision laser cutting is the ultimate operation for engraving and the machining of very complex, small, shallow cavities. One of the advantages of laser machining is that it can engrave on sophisticated contours really constantly and with a high degree of accuracy. It’s also possible to use laser engraving machining services to engrave molds with changing vertical wall angles.

Laser micro machining can produce little, complicated and precise cores and cavities too. As the geometry is produced straight from the CAD file, the laser machining operation can faithfully reproduce the designed shape.

What about accuracy?

A precision laser cutting machine can cut within nanometers. The newer machines are also 5 axis and able to machine a wide range of angles and shapes. The XYZ positioning accuracy can simply approach that of a high quality CNC machining center.

Are laser engraving machines safe?

Even though it may appear dangerous, a precision laser cutting machine is essentially quite safe. Of course, someone might be tempted to ignore common sense and stare at the laser beam with their naked eye, but even this is not so easily done. Usually the machine just hums away, doing its needed task.

Are lasers quick enough to compete?

Depending on the application, a laser machining tool is financially admissible. The applications are restricted to shallow details, which eliminates many projects. However, if your need is for complicated, shallow details, precision laser machining could be the answer .

Because the complete process is computerized and automated, it quickly lends itself to tiny scale production. The engraving of logos is a good example. If your logo is to be cut into a contoured surface, it may not be possible to CNC machine it, or maybe EDM it. This is where laser machining can be a viable option.

What other applications are there?

small hole machining and shaped hole machining are good applications for laser machining. Turbine cooling holes are often laser machined. The helical shape of the blades are no problem for the laser because there is no tool holder to mess. It is simply a beam of light and the head is able to move about way easier than a milling machine, as an example.

Custom Rubber Wristband Fundamentals

Filed under: category — Tags: , — admin @ 1:48 am

Embossed, Printed, Debossed and More!

There is often a lot of confusion regarding the various styles of custom made silicone rubber bracelets. Heck, even silicone wrist band vendors mix-up debossed with embossed bracelets & many consumers aren’t really sure about screen printed wristbands. Fling in the option of lazer-engraved bracelets and people throw up their arms in frustration.

Embossed Bracelets

Although not quite as popular as debossed or printed, embossed wristbands are definitely worth considering for those whom place higher value upon uniqueness and style. just like a debossed bracelet, an Embossed Silicone Rubber Wristband also incorporates any personalized design and requires a mold to be manufactured. However, with embossed bracelets, the fully customized design is raised up off the wristbandas opposed to recessed down into it. Pricing and turnaround times for debossed and embossed bands are nearly identical.

Laser-Engraved Wrist Bands

Laser-Engraved wristbands are becoming more and more popular. Strangely, the majority of wristband suppliers charge outrageous prices, even though they are less expensive to manufacture. Laser-engraved bands are nearly identical to debossed bands in look and feel. If you do prefer the ubiquitous LIVESTRONG debossed style, you might wish to consider laser-engraved bracelets for smaller quantity orders. Similar to printed bands, custom laser-engraved silicone bracelets begin with a blank bracelet. An easy setup program allows a laser-engraving machine to engrave the custom silicone bracelets to the exact specs of whatever fully customized message that is wanted. Laser-engraved bands do not require a mold to be produced; therefore, they are cheaper and enjoy speedier turnaround times than debossed and embossed bracelets.

Debossed Bracelets

Debossed wristbands are the most common and are the same style as Lance Armstrong’s trendsetting LIVESTRONG wrist bands. Debossed refers to the fact that the design is actually recessed down into the Debossed Silicone Rubber Wristband itself. A customized mould is expertly created with the provided personalized message to achieve this. Not long ago, because they need a mold to be manufactured, custom debossed wrist bands were more costly and took longer to manufacture than printed or laser-engraved bracelets; however, today, that gap has lessened considerably.

Printed Bracelets

Printed wristbands are by far the cheapest choice. Printed bands start with a blank wristband and are then silk-screen printed. The industry has seen a vast improvement when it comes to screen printing silicone wristbands. The dyes used today actually penetrate the silicone rubber of the screen printed wrist bands. There are some who believe that the print which is used on printed wristbands is cheaply painted on and will crack or flake off. This is not true if you are dealing with a good bracelet vendor. You can expect the printing to last the lifetime of the silicone bracelet itself. A template is used to produce the custom message rather than a mold. Because a template is used rather than a mold, printed bracelets are less expensive with speedier turnaround times than debossed and embossed wristbands.