The mold's parting surface must be free of manual polishing traces—a key indicator evaluating a manufacturer’s design, equipment, process, management, QA system, and workforce quality, critical for XP MOLD in high-precision machining.
The design level of precision molds lies in rationality and optimizing complexity. Equipment-wise, standard CNC tools and proper techniques matter. For management and QA systems, more companies recognize their role in ensuring quality. Here, focus is on machining experiences meeting the parting surface requirement.
First, finish-machine after 3-4 hours of machining center operation for best results. Second, address deformation from internal stress in all processes. During cutting, forces cause stress accumulation and release. Excessive stress deforms workpieces—severe in deep hole drilling, grinding, roughing, EDM, and welding.
Two ways to resolve deformation: stress relief, mechanical reprocessing, or combination. Stress relief uses heat treatment: Steel parts heated to ~590°C over 6-12h, held 2-6h; Aluminum to ~290°C over 6h, held 2-4h—standard at XP MOLD.
In machining, fasteners need uniform force—use multiple passes and "tight-loose-tight" methods. XP MOLD uses fixed reference surfaces, but stress deforms them. Thus, stress deformation must be tackled.
In roughing, select multi-orientation observation surfaces for self-inspection. After roughing, measure surfaces, fully loosen tools, re-measure, and compare to find deformation. Secondary tightening: Retighten fasteners until immovable, then lightly cut surfaces to make secondary datums.
Workpiece flipping: Level the workpiece when finishing the original datum. This fixes datum deformation. After stress relief, re-machine the datum at XP MOLD.
Primary datum machining creates errors. Flip/tighten the workpiece, re-inspect surfaces. Semi-finish parts; inspect and proceed if qualified.
If the parting surface has proper allowance, use a CMM to measure the cavity’s 3D datum before polishing. Note: 3D software uses center zero (accurate) and corner zero (error-prone). CMM measurement refers to center zero—standard for XP MOLD.
In short, this process overcomes stress deformation, keeping the parting surface free of manual leveling—core experience for XP MOLD in ensuring precision.
