This die-cast steel mold from mainland China's Sunny has a tolerance of +0.05mm. It can be used to form aluminum alloy parts.

The hiring and training of experienced technicians is enabling companies to offer high-precision designs and secondary services.

Casting mold suppliers in mainland China and Taiwan are building skilled R&D and QC teams to cater efficiently to buyers’ needs.

For the latest upgrades, companies are focused on boosting their capability to provide a range of value-added services.

Many are hiring technicians and engineers with solid experience in the field. This has made it easier for them to offer clients high-performance yet low-cost design and manufacturing solutions.

Expertise in computer technology has also become a key requirement as more suppliers tap 3-D engineering software, including Cimatron, Pro/E, UG, SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Currently, these are used mainly to create complex and high-precision molds based on customers’ ideas, specifications, blueprints or samples.

To expand the skill set of their staff, companies hold regular workshops and seminars, with specialists and university professors hired to conduct the lectures. Some send delegates to attend external training programs. Sessions on design engineering, material selection, and production and QC techniques are common.

Arranged two or three times each year, such training opportunities permit employees to stay abreast of industry trends. Teams, as a result, are better equipped to help buyers evaluate, rework and modernize mold structures.

	Chuang Yuan of Taiwan offers molds for die casting aluminum, zinc or magnesium alloy parts. The precision tolerance ranges from 0.01 to 0.05mm.

Mainland suppliers are bolstering R&D so they can release complex and high-precision molds on a par with those from Germany and Japan. Currently, the majority of exports target the low-end and midrange segments in the EU, North and South America, and Australia.

Huangshan Sino Tech Co. Ltd hires only engineers or technicians with a minimum work experience of six years. At present, the company has five R&D personnel. The group can launch 150 models annually and prepare buyers’ samples within 30 days.

At Ningbo Longwei Machinery Co. Ltd, biannual or quarterly training courses are conducted, allowing the 10-member R&D team to stay in sync with market trends. The company adopts simulation software to ensure that final prototypes meet customers’ precision requirements. Samples are ready within a month.

Taiwan suppliers employ R&D and QC experts and invest in various training programs. Most are taking these steps to help invigorate sales in Asia, the US, Turkey and Italy.

Sunway World Co. Ltd allocates 5 to 10 percent of sales to staff training. This includes seminars on material analysis and composition, drafting and precision tolerance. Occasional tutoring sessions are also arranged.

The company’s five R&D specialists can complete designs and introduce engineering changes using Cimatron, SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Prototypes of small molds are created within 30 days while those for large dies take three or four months to produce.

R&D expenditure at Chi Chiang Mold Industry Co. Ltd equals 20 percent of annual revenue. A fraction of this is set aside for in-house and outside training courses. The company also receives technical support from clients in the US, Germany and Japan.

Through these measures, Chi Chiang has been able to update mold structures regularly and finish samples within three weeks. AutoCAD and Pro/E are employed during design work.

The standard tolerance of the company’s molds is ±0.05mm. These are suitable for die casting aluminum, zinc and magnesium alloy.

Chuang Yuan Precision Mold Co. Ltd taps technicians and university personnel with design and computer science backgrounds. Eight employees are currently in charge of R&D, creating prototypes based on buyers’ specifications, blueprints, drawings or ideas. The team can also assist in modernizing and optimizing mold structures.

The company utilizes AutoCAD and Cimatron for product development. Countersamples are available in 30 to 90 days.

To ensure mold precision, suppliers employ sophisticated production equipment and implement comprehensive QC.

Besides lathes and grinders, CNC machining centers are in place at mainland factories. Most are imported, although some makers have started developing units in-house. Vernier calipers and micrometers are adopted during QC.

Sunny Technology Ltd sources CNC machines primarily from Japan or Germany. These enable the company to manufacture steel and aluminum molds with a tolerance of ±0.05 and 0.02mm, respectively.

Foshan Yidajie Metal & Plastic Co. Ltd also carries out production using CNC equipment. Its plant has more than five specialized workshops.

Taiwan suppliers rely on CNC machining centers, EDM equipment, lathes, and milling, grinding and drilling units.

Sunway’s factory houses automated equipment, including three surface grinders, four CNC machining centers and seven EDMs.

The PowerMill CAM system from Delcam is used for refining contours. Finished die-casting molds reach a tolerance of ±0.01mm.

Chuang Yuan has acquired five CNC machining centers and seven EDMs. QC technicians conduct inspection at all production stages, utilizing mainly profile projectors and hardness testers.

The company’s die-casting molds are typically rated at 0.05mm, although a higher tolerance level can be provided on request.

Many suppliers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait extend their services to the actual manufacture of cast parts and components.

Taiwan companies rely on the island’s mature network of subcontractors.

In the mainland, on the other hand, production is often done in-house.