SoftSHOT Integration of SoftSHOT Technology: Implications for Die Design and Die Life

摘要

Over the past 15 months, The Port City Group and their tool builder, Die-Tech & Engineering, Inc., have been integrating SoftSHOT Technology into their production process to improve tool life, produce better die castings and enable them to cast parts that previously were not able to be efficiently cast. SoftSHOT Technology is the trade name given to the methodology for managing kinetic energy of the shot system at impact. The technology is the final brainchild of Peter B. Olmsted, the pioneer who developed the Pre-Fill Valve, the "Olmsted" HB5 (HumpBack 5-way) Throttling Valve, and numerous other technical innovations for the die casting, tool building, and hydraulics industries. The system is exclusively marketed by Visi-Trak Worldwide, LLC, in Valley View, Ohio. This paper will describe a method that has been integrated onto several different die casting dies by The Port City Group (PCG) and Die-Tech & Engineering, Inc. (DTE). PCG is a custom die caster located in Muskegon, Michigan. The company services a broad customer base with die castings that have substantial value added to them after casting. DTE is a builder of die cast dies and plastic injection molds. PCG and DTE work closely on the development of gating and tooling. The goals, simply stated, are to design and build tools that are robust, durable, make quality castings cost effectively for their customers, and that are profitable to both companies to build and to run. They began evaluating this technology in 2003 and fully implemented the concept in 2005.