1. Reduction of production time and costs with optimized processes
Analysis of a real case: construction of inserts for die-casting molds
MMC HITACHI TOOL ENGINEERING EUROPE GMBH
MEMBER OF MITSUBISHI HITACHI TOOL ENGINEERING, Ltd.
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO - PADOVA - ITALY

2. Insert in fix side of the mold: Steel 1,2343 ESU 46/47 HRC
Oggetto:
As first project we focused on the construction of inserts for molds for a particular casting with high production volumes. Currently, 4 molds are in production and 40 replacement inserts are built annually for these molds by Form, hence the interest in reducing the time and costs of construction.
Insert in fix side of the mold:
Steel 1,2343 ESU 46/47 HRC
Dimensions d.200 x h.80 mm
General tolerance 0.01mm
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel

3. Objectives:
Reduce process times of the insert by bringing on the cavity zone a general allowance of mm, eliminating the need of a roughing electrode (and its relative milling hours) reducing the hours of EDM (Electro Discharge Machining).
Creation of a new optimized, stable and repeatable production process to save time and production costs.
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel

4. Current situation - starting point: Construction phases:
Roughing milling 29 %
Constr. of electrode for roughing EDM 24 %
Constr. of electrode for finishing EDM 24 %
Roughing and finishing EDM 23 %
Total (reference starting point): 100 %
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel

5. Projection with MMC HITACHI TOOL: Construction phases:
Roughing and pre-finishing milling 30 %
Constr. of electrode for finishing EDM 24 %
Finishing EDM 5 %
Total (compared to the reference): 59 %
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel

6. Development: Days for the development of the whole project together with the staff of Form Srl: • internal development MMC Hitachi tool: 2 days • development of the Cam Hypermill strategies 1 days • development of the Cam Powermill strategies 1 days • side by side with the milling operator 3 days Total: 7 days Number of new Hitachi MMC tools required: 26
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel

7. Results:
The agreed objectives have been achieved and confirmed with a saving on production time of -40% and a saving on production costs of -24%
The test was carried out on 3 different milling machines and related operators, obtaining the same results, demonstrating the fact that a stable and replicable process was created
The new process can be further optimized by bringing an additional quantifiable advantage between 15% and 20% as a reduction in production time.
It is possible to extend the optimizations made to standardize processes to other projects
CURRENT SITUATION
SITUATION WITH MMC HITACHI TOOL
FORM S.r.l. - Via Vittorio Veneto, 12/G LEGNARO (Z.A.) - PADOVA - ITALY tel