US 6,701,200 B1Granted

Automated custom mold manufacture

AssigneeThe Protomold Company, Inc.

InventorsLawrence Joseph Lukis, Yuri Arnoldovich Dreizin, John Mark Gilbert

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Abstract

Automated, custom mold manufacture for a part begins by creating and storing a collection of information of standard tool geometries and surface profiles machinable by each of the standard tool geometries. A customer sends a CAD file for the part to be molded to the system. The system assesses the CAD file to determine various pieces of mold manufacturing information. One or more acceptability criteria are applied to the part, such as whether the part can be manufactured in a two-piece, straight-pull mold, and whether the mold can by CNC machined out of aluminum. If not, the system sends a file to the customer graphically indicating which portions of the part need modification to be manufacturable. With any such modifications, the system provides the customer with a quotation of the cost to manufacture the mold or a number of parts. The quotation is based upon mold manufacturing time as automatically assessed from the part drawings. The customer's part is geometrically assessed so the system automatically selects appropriate tools and computes tool paths for mold manufacture. In addition to the part cavity, the system preferably assesses the parting line, the shutoff surfaces, the ejection pins and the runners and gates for the mold. The preferred system then generates CNC machining instructions to manufacture the mold, and the mold is manufactured in accordance with these instructions.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method of automated, custom mold manufacture for a part, the mold having a first half and a second half opposed to the first half, the first half and the second half together defining a cavity corresponding in shape to the part to be molded in the cavity, the method comprising:

creating a collection of stored information of standard tool geometries indicating surface profiles machinable by each of the standard tool geometries;
receiving a CAD file from a customer for the part to be molded, the CAD file defining a part surface profile;
assessing the CAD file to determine a straight pull z-direction, a parting line and corresponding shutoff surfaces separating the first half and the second half of the mold, so that the parting line and corresponding shutoff surfaces are oriented with respect to the part to permit straight pull of the first half and the second half in a straight-pull z-direction during molding of the part;
based upon the determined orientation of the straight-pull z-direction with respect to the part, processing the CAD file with a computer to automatically identify and locate a plurality of discrete machinable portions of the part surface profile, each machinable portion corresponding to a machining tool path machinable with a selected tool from within the collection of standard tool geometries, each of the machinable portions being tool accessible with the selected tool oriented in the straight-pull z-direction;
based upon the plurality of discrete machinable portions, computer generating a series of CNC machining instructions corresponding to machining the mold with the selected tools and computed machining tool paths;
and
machining the cavity into the first and second halves of the mold with the selected tools and computed machining tool paths via the computer generated series of CNC machining instructions.

4 more elements

A method of automated, custom mold manufacture for a part, the mold having at least two separable portions together defining a cavity corresponding in shape to the part to be molded in the cavity, the method comprising:

creating a collection of stored information of geometrical constraints of different material removal steps;
receiving a CAD file from a customer for the part to be molded, the CAD file defining a part surface profile;
assessing the CAD file to determine a parting line and corresponding shutoff surfaces between separable portions of the mold;
based upon the determined orientation of the parting line and corresponding shutoff surfaces with respect to the part, processing the CAD file with a computer to automatically identify and locate discrete portions of the part surface profile, each discrete portion corresponding to a material removal step from within the collection of stored information, each of the discrete portions being manufacturable with the selected material removal step;
based upon the identified discrete portions and selected material removal steps, automatically generating a quotation of mold formation with the selected material removal steps, the quotation varying based upon computer analysis of at least one indicator of mold manufacture time;
and
communicating the automatically-generated quotation to the customer;
after customer acceptance of the quotation, forming the cavity into the separable portions of the mold with the selected material removal steps;
and
billing the customer in accordance with the quotation.

7 more elements

A method of automated, custom mold manufacture for a part, the mold defining a cavity corresponding in shape to the part to be molded, the method comprising:

creating a collection of stored information of geometries of material removal steps indicating surface profiles formed by the material removal steps to transform a mold block into a custom mold;
receiving a CAD file over a global communications network from a customer for the part to be molded, the CAD file defining a part surface profile;
automatically processing the received CAD file with a computer to identify and locate discrete portions of the part surface profile, each discrete portion corresponding to at least one surface profile of one material removal step from within the collection of stored information;
automatically generating a quotation based upon the identified and located material removal steps;
and
automatically transmitting the automatically generated quotation to the customer over the global communications network.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/056,755Filed 24 Jan 2002 · us provisional application
Priority: 27 Dec 2001
Granted: 2 Mar 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G06Q 30/06
Commerce: buying, selling or leasing transactions
B22C 19/04
Components or accessories for moulding machines: controlling devices specially designed for moulding machines
B29C 33/3835
Characterised by the material or the manufacturing process: designing moulds, e.g. using CAD-CAM
G06Q
Information and communication technology [ict] specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial