MoldMaking Technology

MoldMaking Technology The only monthly trade publication focused entirely on mold design, build, repair and management.

MoldMaking Technology addresses the complete lifecycle of the manufacture and maintenance of a mold—from design to first shot—by providing solutions and strategies to moldmaking professionals charged with designing, building and repairing molds. MMT utilizes an Editorial Advisory Board to help guide the direction of the brand. This board is made up of authorities with expertise within their respec

tive business, industry, technology and profession. Their role is to advise on timely issues, trends and advances in the field, offer editorial thought and direction, review and comment on specific articles and generally act as a sounding board and a conscience for the publication. MMT remains committed to bringing our audience what’s new and what works in mold manufacturing by focusing on the needs of today’s mold builders. Anything from successful business practices to manufacturing strategies can be found in a technology article, application story, shop profile or tip of the month that applies to today’s mold shop owners, tool and mold manufacturers, injection molders and OEMs.

Date stamps in plastic injection molding are far more than a formality — they are a core traceability tool with real con...
06/24/2026

Date stamps in plastic injection molding are far more than a formality — they are a core traceability tool with real consequences when mismanaged.

A single date stamp can reveal the year, month, day, shift, and batch in which a part was manufactured. In the event of a product failure or recall, that information speeds up the investigative process and helps quantify the fallout in lost time, material, and profits.

Beyond failure response, date stamps serve active production functions:

- Managing inventory and shipping schedules for long-running tools
- Indicating effective dates of engineering changes
- Guiding first-in, first-out practices for biodegradable or design-sensitive materials
- Supporting legal and regulatory compliance in automotive, medical, and other industries

Yet some manufacturers view them as a "necessary evil." Daily changes, employee turnover, material incompatibilities, and improper stamp selection can all compromise marking accuracy — and a mismarked part can mean costly downtime or mold damage.

Understanding the available dater configurations and best practices for maintenance is essential for molders and OEM customers alike.

Read the full article for a detailed breakdown of date-stamp types, selection considerations, and maintenance guidance. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/traceability-the-why-and-how-of-date-stamp-usage-in-molds-2

A mold shop embedded inside a medical molding facility is an unconventional arrangement — and it is proving to be a prac...
06/22/2026

A mold shop embedded inside a medical molding facility is an unconventional arrangement — and it is proving to be a practical answer to reshoring demand.

Dean Terrian of Evolve Tool and Mold Design operates within VistaLab Technologies in Patterson, New York, designing and building precision medical molds on-site. The model addresses a persistent gap: tooling expertise and production capability under one roof, without the overhead of a full in-house shop.

The arrangement delivers measurable advantages:

- On-site support eliminates the downtime and cost of shipping tools out for repairs
- Rapid iteration on complex projects, including unfamiliar resins other shops declined to run
- End-to-end capability from design and build through sampling and production

Projects include high-cavitation medical components, a bio-resin jar and lid using PHA, and reshored dosage cup tooling with a six-month lead time compressed to weeks.

The broader takeaway: as supply chain risk and tariff pressure intensify, domestic mold shops with integrated capabilities occupy a distinct competitive position.

Read the full interview for the technical detail behind this model. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/embedded-innovation-one-man-mold-shop-delivers-fast-complex-solutions-in-medical-molding

Recognition, certification, and policy — May's moldmaking news covers notable ground across the industry.The American Mo...
06/18/2026

Recognition, certification, and policy — May's moldmaking news covers notable ground across the industry.

The American Mold Builders Association has announced its 2026 award recipients, honoring David LaGrow of Maximum Mold Group, R&D Leverage, and Edward Walsh of Westminster Tool for leadership, workforce development, and emerging talent.

Stellar Mold & Tool earned ISO 9001:2015 certification, covering the full scope of its mold design, manufacturing, repair, and precision machining services.

Additional items in this roundup include:

- The Reshoring Initiative's 2026 Survey, which provides data to policymakers shaping U.S. manufacturing decisions
- A Penn State Behrend conference highlighting plastics processing innovations, AI applications, mold technologies, and workforce development
- CONTRAX Austin, an inaugural contract manufacturing event from Gardner Business Media, scheduled for June 24–25, 2026 in Austin, Texas

Read the full roundup to see what else catches your eye. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/5-news-items-you-may-have-missed

Ejector pin failure is rarely random — it is often a function of unsupported length.When an ejector pin bends, buckles, ...
06/17/2026

Ejector pin failure is rarely random — it is often a function of unsupported length.

When an ejector pin bends, buckles, or breaks, the diameter, material, and hardness may not be the problem. The critical variable is the distance between the pin's fixed support points.

A formula developed by mathematician Leonard Euler in the 1700s remains applicable today. The Slenderness Ratio — unsupported length divided by diameter divided by four — provides a direct predictor of buckling risk. When that ratio exceeds 100, pin failure becomes likely.

Key principles from the analysis:

- Cutting unsupported length in half can quadruple the force a pin withstands before buckling
- Pins 7/64 in. or smaller should be stepped or shouldered to reduce unsupported length
- Stroke-limiting spacer blocks do not reduce unsupported length and will not resolve a buckling problem
- Clearance in the ejector retainer plate can meaningfully increase effective unsupported length for small-diameter pins

The full piece by Jim Fattori, a third-generation injection molder with more than 45 years of experience, walks through the engineering behind these decisions in precise detail. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/tooling-why-ejector-pins-break-and-how-to-prevent-it-part-2-2

Depth over rotation: one moldmaker's path to expertise at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.Ty Johannesen, a Craftsman...
06/15/2026

Depth over rotation: one moldmaker's path to expertise at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

Ty Johannesen, a Craftsman 2 in the tool and die operation at SEL in Pullman, Washington, spent the better part of his first year focused almost entirely on sinker EDM and graphite machining. Not a rotation. A deep dive. "You gotta do both of them together to really get the full picture."

That approach reflects a broader workforce strategy: hire people willing to learn, then keep them focused on one process long enough to actually get good at it.

On AI, Johannesen is candid. CAM-driven AI is coming, and he is not concerned. "It can't take away what we do." A skilled operator is still needed to measure, comp and make the call. He sees it as a tool that gets you most of the way there, not a replacement.

His perspective is grounded in recent experience, which may be precisely why it carries weight.

Read the full MMT Chat for more on training, process depth and building expertise in moldmaking. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/mmt-chat-fresh-perspective-on-workforce-edm-and-whats-coming-next

AI-driven quoting tools trained on a shop's own data are redefining how moldmakers estimate complex, custom work.Quoting...
06/11/2026

AI-driven quoting tools trained on a shop's own data are redefining how moldmakers estimate complex, custom work.

Quoting remains one of the most time-consuming parts of moldmaking. Most tools are built for repetitive production, not custom tooling — leaving shops dependent on spreadsheets and gut feel.

A new generation of AI quoting systems takes a different approach:

- Trained exclusively on your shop's past quotes, CAD drawings, and job records — not generic public models
- Feature recognition breaks CAD models into holes, planes, pockets, and radii to predict setup times and costs with precision
- Predictive accuracy often above 90%, compared to roughly 70% from broad AI platforms
- On-premise deployment keeps proprietary data off the cloud entirely
- Detailed, itemized quotes generated in under three minutes once the system is trained

The goal is not to replace human expertise — it is to free it up for more strategic work.

For moldmakers weighing whether AI quoting is ready for real shop floors, the full piece outlines five key considerations worth examining. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/5-tips-for-smarter-ai-powered-quoting-in-moldmaking

Ejector pins rarely fail because of the pins themselves.In injection molding, the more likely culprits are the molding m...
06/10/2026

Ejector pins rarely fail because of the pins themselves.

In injection molding, the more likely culprits are the molding machine and the ejection system — specifically the conditions that apply uneven loads to the ejector plate.

Key contributors to ejector plate misalignment and pin failure include:

- Bent ejector crosses or worn guide bushings on the molding machine
- Knock-out bars of uneven or incorrect length
- Broken or mismatched ejector-return springs
- Debris inside the ejector housing causing plates to c**k or bend
- Thermal expansion differentials between the core plate and ejector plates
- Poorly distributed knock-out bar spacing on large molds

As Jim Fattori notes, the standard 1-in. to 1-1/8-in. ejector plate thickness is almost always sufficient. "If you have a plate-deflection issue, the root cause of your problem is probably not the thickness of the plate — more likely it's an uneven loading issue."

The principle is straightforward: ejector plates should travel parallel to the centerline of the mold and receive and apply an evenly distributed load.

Part one of a four-part series from Plastics Technology. Full article linked below. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/tooling-why-ejector-pinsand-how-to-prevent-it-part-1-2

06/08/2026

Thank you for an amazing event. And to all the incredible Canadian mouldmakers and suppliers who participated … what fun! And great networking!

Restoring high-speed packaging molds to peak performance demands precision, process discipline, and the right equipment....
06/08/2026

Restoring high-speed packaging molds to peak performance demands precision, process discipline, and the right equipment.

Thin-wall plastic packaging molds operate under extreme conditions — and deferred maintenance compounds the challenge. One of the most common problems: customers wait too long before sending molds in for repair, increasing required work and extending lead times.

Effective mold maintenance requires a three-tiered approach:

- Preventive: disassembly, inspection, dimensional verification, and cooling channel flushing
- Corrective: component restoration, gate and hot runner service, surface repair via laser and micro-TIG welding
- Refurbishment: dimensional mapping, wear surface plating, ejection system replacement, and surface finishing

Pre-manufacturing critical components — such as lock rings and gate inserts — can reduce repair turnaround time by up to 50%.

A recent case study illustrates the stakes: a 27-year-old, 16-cavity stack mold with no original CAD data, running at one-third capacity, was fully restored through reverse engineering and precision refurbishment — ultimately running better than at any previous point in its service life.

Read the full article for the complete diagnostic and repair workflow. https://www.moldmakingtechnology.com/articles/expert-thin-wall-mold-restoration

06/07/2026

at Golf Outing! Beautiful day here in Canada.

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