Precise Corp.'s high-speed spindle systems deliver the performance Quality Mold Inc. requires for mold engraving.
Quality Mold Inc. creates precision molds for automobile, light-truck, off-road, motorcycle, agriculture, and aircraft tires. Key to the molds is the engraving that adds tire names, identification numbers, designs, and other information to the tire's sidewall. The letters, which must be sharp and clear, range from simple to quite complex. Accuracy and repeatability are vital as tiremakers want uniformity. Traditionally, these details were stamped into the tire mold or engraved using a pantograph-type machine and template. Neither of these techniques provides the speed and accuracy today's tiremakers require.
To meet customer demands, Quality built its own CNC machines using Precise SC 82 spindle systems. At the heart of these systems are dynamically balanced quill shafts that turn in preloaded high-precision ceramic ball bearings. Integral motors drive spindle speeds from 10,000 to 40,000 rpm. The 4-hp spindles get power from Precise's PCF 610 high-frequency converters and feature liquid cooling systems. Spindle accuracy of 0.00008 in. maximum T.I.R. at the nose lets the machines work at high speeds and produce high quality engraved surfaces. Quality uses carbide tools, and the machines currently run 20 hours per day, engraving sidewall molds made of aluminum or steel.
The Precise Corp.
Racine, Wis.
www.precise-corp.com
