What you'll learn in this PMM Insight podcast, with Editor Ron Shinn and Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna:
- Mold makers continue to face tough competition from foreign suppliers and are seeing higher costs due to tariffs.
- New technologies such as sophisticated design software, additive manufacturing and robots and other automation help mold makers stay competitive.
- Artificial intelligence is the latest technology mold makers are learning to use.
Timestamps:
00:31 – Why mold makers are crucial to the industry.
01:41 – Mixed results so far from reshoring and tariffs; anecdotal increase in interest from U.S. customers, but mold makers face higher material/machine costs.
03:52 – Technologies such as advanced CAD/CAM programs enable mold makers to simulate and optimize designs before cutting metal. Precision is essential.
05:24 – Additive manufacturing creates complex internal features. Semi-automated or fully automated machining allows 24/7 production.
06:20 – Human expertise is essential, but labor shortages endure. Apprenticeships, partnerships with schools, outreach to youth, internal programs help grow talent.
08:06 – Automation boosts productivity and allows labor reallocation.
09:31 – AI assists in mold design and tool path generation, reduces manual drafting and accelerates the design phase.
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Ron Shinn | Editor
Editor Ron Shinn is a co-founder of Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing and has been covering the plastics industry for more than 35 years. He leads the editorial team, directs coverage and sets the editorial calendar. He also writes features, including the Talking Points column and On the Factory Floor, and covers recycling and sustainability for PMM and Plastics Recycling.
Karen Hanna | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna covers injection molding, molds and tooling, processors, workforce and other topics, and writes features including In Other Words and Problem Solved for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She has more than 15 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.
