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A true benchmark for Magics Tooling: Magics Tooling identified as capable of dramatically reducing lead-time.

A unique collaborative project between Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sweden), TNO Industrial Technology (The Netherlands), TCG Unitech Austria and the Rapid Manufacturing Research Group (Loughborough University, UK) was undertaken to investigate potential Rapid Tooling (RT) methods for the production of prototype magnesium die-cast components for use by Sony Ericsson. In addition, several software packages, among them Magics Tooling, were reviewed in order to find software that would be capable of producing tooling inserts within a short time period. Magics Tooling proved to be very capable.

Dr. Richard Hague, Rapid Manufacturing Research Group, Wolfson School of Mech. & Man. Eng., Loughborough University, UK.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB felt that they would like to reduce the time to produce their prototype magnesium die – castings for use in their mobile communication devices. Typical applications for these magnesium components are for the main chassis (or frames) of a mobile phone. Die – cast tooling poses a particular problem as it generally needs to be more robust than injection mould tooling in order to withstand the higher temperatures that occur during the die – casting process and therefore generally takes longer to process and procure than general Rapid Tooling solutions for injection moulding applications. For this reason, die – cast components can often produce a bottleneck in the product development process. For die – cast components, the conventional tooling solutions are historically expensive and have long lead times, thus making fast tooling solutions potentially attractive.

 

Rapid Tooling Technologies Review

 

The main aim of this project was to investigate the various available Rapid Tooling solutions to see if it would be possible to dramatically reduce the current lead – time for the production of the magnesium die – cast components. These rapid tool inserts should be able to produce magnesium die – cast parts with the same complexity and quality as those produced in conventional die – cast tools.
Out of the thirteen appropriate RT technologies that were globally sourced and tested, only two were able to produce viable castings. The successful RT processes were High Speed Milling (HSM) of STL files and the EOS Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) 20µm system. Both processes were able to produce within – tolerance castings that could be used for the production of aesthetically acceptable, functional mobile phones that were capable of withstanding the standard Sony Ericsson test procedures

Software review

 

During the production of tooling inserts for a new design of frame, the generation of the CAD model of the tooling cavities can often be a bottleneck. Therefore, the aim of the software review was to investigate which piece of software is available on the market that is capable of producing a core and cavity insert within a reduced time period from receipt of the STL, Unigraphics (UG), Parasolid, IGES or STEP file of the finished part. In order to expedite the process, CAD vendors (in Holland, Belgium and Sweden) were approached to perform the tests. The 3D CAD packages that were tested included:

  • Unigraphics
  • PowerSHAPE
  • Magics Tooling
  • Cimatron
After signing confidentiality agreements, the CAD vendors were supplied with a 3D model (in STL, UG, Parasolid, IGES or STEP, as required) of the concerned frame. As the file that they received was of the finished phone, it was necessary for them to perform certain operations in order to create insert designs that would produce viable castings. Therefore, they were also given information such as:
  • Shrinkage allowance (casting tolerance and paint thickness.
  • Co – ordinates and sizes of ejector holes.
  • Gating and over – flow details.
  • Details of which holes have to be closed.
  • Details of other important areas and thickness’ that need to be altered.
  • Details of the required insert dimensions: width, length, height, mounting holes.
The results of the software review are shown in Table 1.
Requirement Unigraphics PowerSHAPE Magics Tooling Cimatron
Accept a frame file as solid in either UG, STL, IGES or STEP Yes Yes Yes Yes
Detect all undercuts of the frame and erase them No Everything > 1 degree Everything > 0.1 degree Not able to check
Possibility to fill open areas, which will be stamped our after casting Yes Yes Yes Yes
Accept a file of the gating and overflows and connect it to the frame Yes, but not well positioned in Z direction Yes, very well Yes, but with gaps Yes, but three missing
Create the closing surface of the tooling inserts Yes Yes Yes Yes, but not neat
Create the ejector holes Yes, but not as specified Yes Yes, very well Yes, seamless
Output: 3D file of inserts in STL Yes Yes Yes No
Quality of STL file Good Average Good N/A
Costs CAD package: basic software + tooling module (comparative to Magics) high low low medium
Table 1: Results of Software Review

 

From the results table, it can be concluded that from the four packages investigated, only Unigraphics and Magics software were able to produce a good STL file in the allotted time period. In general, Magics Tooling fulfilled the requirements the best. This study clearly proves the excellent price – performance ratio of the Magics software.

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