Moldmaking Resource Plastic Mold Makers, Mold Designers, Mold Repair Guide Micro welding services are some of the most important aspects of mold maintenance, and the mold making process in general. The number of jobs that have been “saved” by the skill of the micro welder cannot be counted. Just recall the many little mishaps that have been fixed by the welder!
If you have never seen the work of a highly skilled micro welder, you will be amazed when you see items such as a razor blade with a clean bead of weld across the cutting edge. Or a stick pin with a dot of weld on the tip.
If you have an in-house micro welder, make sure you treat him well. Also, be sure to train somebody to fill in in the event of his absence.
Micro Welding Equipment
Nova Tech and Miller are great places to start searching for a quality welder. Both companies have years of experience in injection mold welding and offer training, equipment and supplies.
A good micro welder can accurately place the minimum amount of weld in the exact location, while avoiding surrounding details and keeping sink as little as possible. With very little equipment and a lot of skill, the right welding wire just flows into the exact spot while avoiding the “good” part of the mold component.
Micro welding can save you a boatload of time and money. With some effort the welded part might even look like brand new! Just ask an injection mold maker what they think about it.
- Less downtime. If your mold is worn out, or damaged, you can build it up and machine it back to spec very quickly. This is usually much easier than inserting new steel and often can be finished by hand.
- Saves your new components from becoming scrap. What it the EDM forgets the overhang on an electrode and now you have a nicely finished burn right in the middle of a critical detail? You can usually get it micro welded, re-edm’d and almost like new very quickly. Instead of a scrapped cavity block, you have one 99% as good as new.
- Some shops use micro welding to build up steel instead of machining around a protruding detail. Rather than constantly having to avoid a tiny standing detail above the main machined area, it sometimes makes sense to machine it and then add the protruding detail by welding.
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