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moldmakingtechnology.com 19 real health and ergonomic hazard." This inspired him to create a process that would make welding safer and more comfortable for his employees. The resulting 3D robotic deposition system takes the welder away from the very hot mold and eliminates a very difficult manual welding process. For this system, the team developed a process that reads CAD files to locate the required surfaces and the 3D volumes to be added to a mold, then determines the required deposi- tion paths and arc parameters, which is forwarded to the robotic cell. In the robotic cell, the operator locates the pickup points on the mold (tooling ball). Then the robotic software interpolates the paths to create layers of tool steel beads on a 3D-contoured mold surface, controlling factors such as end-of- arm deposition angle, wire feed and temperatures. It does this exactly as a welder would, while knowing where the robot is in relationship to the mold surface. Basically, the team developed code functions similar to a CNC machine, except to add material instead of to remove it. The deposition process is performed in layers. For example, where multiple objects are being created, the deposit of tool steel materials Solutions. For example, it is prone to weld imperfections on the mold surface, such as pin holes, porosity, surface cracks and weld hard lines. The tungsten electrode used may be contaminated several times per hour, which affects weld quality and increases costs. It is also very difficult to create 3D objects manually with this process. Typically, skilled welders can only deposit 0.75 pounds of weld per hour, cannot create two identical weld beads (inherent variation occurs) and are exposed to extreme temperatures (450°F to 750°F) when welding on large molds, which poses safety and comfort issues. Zaffino was especially concerned about the safety issues of the manual TIG welding process. "Sure, there are welding blankets that cover the mold; however, no matter how you try to keep the welder cool, that heat dissipates up. It becomes a The results of a temperature analysis of a conventionally cooled and conformal-cooled bumper mold show the part temperatures through the thickness after the 30-second cycle time. Note that the average temperature delta is 19°F to 23°F between both cooling methods. This allows part ejection at lower cycle times without affecting part quality. Note the temperature difference at the nozzle outlet, which is typically the last area to cool. Mold Temperature Comparison This patented process was tested and proven in a mold that has produced more than 20,000 fascia bumpers.