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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
CAx Process Chain for Automated Laser Drilling of Tool Molds
Author(s)
Hermann Uchtmann and Ingomar Kelbassa
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5275/2014.05.010
Affiliation(s)
ABSTRACT
Rotation sintering, also known as slush molding, is used to manufacture molded skins, such as dashboards or door interior panels for cars. At present, approximately 80% of such molded skins are manufactured using electroforms to achieve the complex free-form surfaces, and surface structures, such as leather graining that the industry demands. The manufacture of these electroforms is, however, time-consuming and expensive. This project aims to replace conventional electroforms with laser-drilled molds. Holes in tool molds should be drilled by using laser radiation as part of an automated process. The system consists of a robot with a fiber-laser beam source. A CAx (computer-aided x) process chain has been developed for this purpose in which the CAD (computer-aided design) data of the tool molds are processed, drill hole fields generated, and a machine-specific RC (robot control) program created. Process-specific fundamentals, such as suitable process windows and process control, have been devised to manufacture holes using fiber laser radiation. The advantages of the new laser-drilled tool molds may result in substituting them for conventional electroforms, allowing old markets to be re-entered or additional markets to be created and targeted through new molds or lower costs.
KEYWORDS
Laser drilling, fiber lasers, tool molds, CAx process chain
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