How CNC Machining Will Benefit Your Production Process

The cost and quality of manufactured parts rely on the accuracy and speed at which they’re produced. Industrial manufacturing uses plastic injection molding to keep material costs down while maintaining the capability for high-level production. The key concept is accuracy, especially for industries that require intricate or complex parts.

To ensure precision, high tolerances, quality, and long-term durability, manufacturers must use impeccable machine tools. You can build high-quality molds using CNC machining, a process which removes metal accurately.  

What Is CNC Machining? 

It’s essential to ace the mold tool design process. The higher the precision and mass-production required, the more complex the tooling can become.

Manufacturers create this high degree of precision using computer numerical control (CNC), replacing manually operated machines, vertical millers, and lathes with a centralized, automated system. CNC machines convert computer-aided design (CAD) models into mass-produced parts with as little as .0001 variation between parts. They operate via advanced manufacturing technology, removing material from a solid block using a variety of cutting tools to achieve the intended design. 

There are three basic types of CNC machining: 

• Milling: This process mounts the part onto a bed and removes material using rotational cutting tools, creating products in a wide variety of shapes 
• Turning: This process mounts the part on a rotating chuck and removes material using stationary cutting tools, creating axially symmetric end products 
• EDM: This process uses controlled electrical discharge to obtain the desired shape 
  

CNC machining operates with many common materials including:

• Aluminum
• Stainless steel
• Brass
• Other types of metals 

Benefits of CNC Machining

The cost of building a quality stainless-steel mold tool usually constitutes the most significant financial investment in the plastic injection molding process. Because millions of plastic parts are ultimately going to be manufactured through those molds, it is important to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the mold up front in order to not have inaccuracies and faults over time.

Using CNC machining to manufacture molds has many advantages that benefit the end user: 

• Requires few steps to produce parts, resulting in high efficiency
• The process is more precise than manual machining and can be repeated in the same manner over and over again
• Provides the ability to produce complex shapes with a high level of precision
• Operates with advanced CAD software to produce outputs and multiple functions that cannot manually be replicated
• Fully automated systems mean that the operator is not exposed to safety risks

Bring Your Custom Manufacturing Project to The Rodon Group 

The Rodon Group is a family-owned, ISO 9001:2015 certified, custom plastic injection molder that specializes in offering innovative manufacturing solutions involving the use of custom part design, CNC machining and tooling and highly automated manufacturing capabilities. Because we’re one of the largest family-owned and operated plastic injection molders in the U.S., we have access to resources that help reduce production costs even further. We proudly offer a total concept solution from design and tooling to material selection, production, and fulfillment, including high-volume production runs for commercial distribution. 

Contact us today to request a free quote and find out how our industry experience and expertise will benefit you with your next project.