Prototype Models & Molds
The field dedicated to studying, creating and providing most of the 3-dimensional products we need and use today comprises a long list of highly skilled craftsman, technicians and engineers, know as: model makers, mold makers, and toolmakers; who provide everything from industrial models, plugs, molds, dies, prototypes, scale models, to mock-ups, using materials such as aluminum, light alloys, foams, EPS, epoxy phenol and polyurethane (PU) resins, solid wood, plywood, foundry sand, and so forth, employing two fundamental process approaches to their work, either the subtractive process, in which material is removed until the desired surface or shape is obtained, or additive, in which material is added until the desired surface or shape is obtained, or a combination of both methods, as in the new low cost technology utilizing an EPS substrate, which is machined to a rough approximation of the final surface and then covered with an epoxy paste, which after curing is machined to the final required surface.
Model makers, mold makers and pattern makers are highly skilled individuals in the use of a wide variety of machines, but today they increasingly rely on advanced CNC milling and machining center capabilities, supported by new powerful CAD CAM software for code creation.
That being said, pattern and model making has arrived in the last decade at a new level of industrial importance and with this market change, these last few years have shown a considerable increase in CMS' installed base in the model/pattern sector. A series of factors has contributed to this success: the technical characteristics of CMS' CNC milling and machining centers combined with a generous work envelop, in which significant absolute precision values can be obtained; CMS' know-how in processing a wide range of diverse material types, such as aluminum, light alloys, ureol, epoxy paste and/or polyurethane, EPS, foundry sand, wood, and so forth, which also results in a better utilization of its CNC machines; and the development of specific customer options, fixtures and accessories along with customer support for improved use of process software. All of which results in a more competitive, performance oriented, advanced technology for CMS' customers.
