Having recently revamped its corporate image and Web site, the injection mould tool manufacturer Alpha Precision says it is welcoming new challenges, winning important medical, aerospace and automotive contracts, and “pushing the boundaries of what is possible in precision engineering through the use of ‘state of the art’ software”.

Based at Tubbercurry in County Sligo, Alpha Precision operates an almost full suite of VISI software modules (www.visicadcam.com) from Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division.

Brendan Feely, director of the Irish tool-making company, describes this software as a seamless communication tool.

He said: “Several years ago, Ireland experienced an exodus of tool-making contracts as work went overseas, particularly to China.

“At the same time, the specialist VISI CAD/CAM software for the mould and die industry was rapidly developing and adding new features.

“Indeed, even companies that weren’t computer-literate were investing in the technology to survive.

“The software had a huge effect on the tool-making industry, giving us the competitive advantage necessary to ‘weather the storm’.

“It is now ‘high-end’ all the way for Alpha Precision — high-end staff building high-end mould tools with high-end software.

“The technology promotes a more automated process and means that our staff need a different skill-set to use VISI — the ‘glue’ in the complete tool-making environment — to its full potential.

“We have a variety of machines doing different jobs, so our operators have different skills.

“The VISI software is applied on the back of the machining, and because there are several disciplines — such as design, milling, wire eroding and spark eroding — the operators in each area are just trained on the one particular VISI module.”

Mr Feely also says he compares the tool-room to a group of people from different countries, with none of them speaking a language other than their own.

“One language is design, while others include flow analysis, milling, wire eroding and spark erosion.

“VISI is the common language that unites all those processes, ensuring that everything moves fluently through the tool-room from one discipline to another.”

Operating with 16 employees, the company produces an average of 40 tools a year.

These range in size from 100 x 100mm up to 600 x 1,000mm and are mainly for the automotive, medical, packaging and electronics sectors.

Partnership approach

Mr Feely says that Alpha Precision partners with its clients from the initial concept, right through to the final production.

“Our design team uses VISI to design complex moulds.

“These range from ‘high cavitation’ tools for one of our many medical customers to two-shot plastic injection tools that involve an over-mould; and while two-shot production adds another element by involving a second material and process, VISI keeps the deign and manufacturing process both simple and efficient.”

VISI programs run high-speed milling on Alpha Precision’s machining centres (a Röder plus F3 and F5 Makinos) to meet the challenges posed by the medical industry, which requires ‘fine micro levels’ of accuracy and finish.

Mr Feely said: “We use 42,000rev/min spindle speeds for very small detail finishing; and where necessary we cut our electrodes on the Makino F3, with high definition being undertaken on the F5.

“We can also machine a cavity in just one night that might otherwise take a week.

“Using VISI Machining, we can quickly produce highly polished medical-mould parts with fine detail, a milled finish, and a split line within micron accuracy.

“VISI Electrode and Wire also powers our EDM machines for spark eroding and wire erosion.”

Having invested in many VISI modules — including Modelling, Analysis, Flow, Mould, Progress, the ‘wire cutting and electrode’ systems, along with 2D Milling, 3D Milling and High-speed Milling — the software is used at every stage of Alpha Precision’s processes, beginning with providing an accurate quotation for the customer.

“We use VISI’s analytical tools to check the drafts and all the different features that we will need to build into the mould, such as the core and side pieces.

“When an order has been placed, we work closely with our customer’s moulders on the design concept, including flow analysis and tool layout.

“Once the 2-D design is broken down and we have the tooling in full 3-D, we really begin to see the huge power of VISI, which controls everything from design, through milling to EDM in one environment; and because we are not going across translators, the technology takes us right through every stage.

“VISI ensures that all milling for ‘hard prepping’ and high-speed finishing is handled quickly and accurately, which is vital to our operation.

“We make a lot of one-off custom components for each mould, so we only run a program once.

“We need to be very good at generating CNC code time after time, and VISI is exceptional at doing that job for us.”

Although injection mould tools form Alpha Precision’s core business, the company also provides a blow-moulding and forming-tool service, and it has experience in specialised press tooling.