Summer 2006 - Tooling News

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No Minimum Charge at Carr's

Carr’s have been laser welding tooling for over 7 years now, and have always had to charge a minimum amount to cover the overhead of factory, man and machine. However Carr’s now have regular sources of income from other laser welding jobs, which can be done in the quieter times. Your breakdown work is still very much our priority when it needs welding, but when there is no tooling to weld, we still have a source of income.

Good news for toolmakers and moulders all round the UK and Europe; you can have a tool laser welded, inspected, packed up and sent back, in the normal way for a lot less. A small job sent for us to weld over the day, would come out at less than £50, when before the minimum charge of £92 would have applied. While-you-wait services still attract a £32 premium, if you want to wait for your job.

More details from Phil on 01536 412828

Application Story

Medical mouldings have to be 100% right. This high value and highly critical industry has all our health in mind and so it is excellent that laser welding is generally accepted for modification and repairs to tools.

This cavity and 3 like it, were modified by Carr’s, where a fit up problem was experienced and the mouldings were to big to go into the next one, ie when stacked together. The solution was to laser weld all round the first 5mm down inside the cavity and re machine to leave the mouth 0.2mm smaller. The welding finished perfectly and polished up afterwards, as if the original material.

This tool was welded in 2003 and is still being moulded today.

Personnel Story - Geoff Long.

Geoff joined Carr’s in 2005 as an accounts assistant. Geoff soon showed his true colours for programming, not just with sage software, but also with the Kuka robot. Now still only a year at Carr’s, Geoff is controlling the robot to laser weld production jobs. Welds are always closely scrutinised by a fully trained member of staff, while Geoff continues his training. This ensures the procedure can be approved under Carr’s normal ISO 9001/2000 standards. Once programmed the robot repeats welds to 0.1mm accuracy.

Quality Corner

Carr’s run all their jobs to ISO9001 /2000. It means that we have a documented procedure for all the welding that is carried out in the factory and off site. The system draws on the company’s 15 year experience of welding and repairing tooling, to assist the new employees at Carr’s.

Quality is still King at Carr’s.

Tig Welding at Carr's

Carr’s have Tig welded for themselves for a few years, but are increasingly asked to weld cracks on leaky tools or areas of tooling that need a bulk of metal on, which would take ages on the laser. In response to this pressure, Carr’s now offer limited tool repairs with Tig weld cladding to H13 and P20 tools. The heat input is high, but the pre heat and interpass temperatures can all be maintained correctly to ensure the tool is protected. Sometimes a combination of the laser and the Tig welding processes can also be a good answer to a big job. There is always the chance of distortion, so beware.

Finishing & Repairs

Carr’s have always been able to finish a small repair to a damaged tool. Hand finishing is less acceptable nowadays, as the hand skills are generally lost, and blending is considered to be “uncontrollable”. However where a good finish is a must or a dink can be eased back to tolerance, hand finishing can be a quick & efficient repair method, specially if done on site.