Although the wood mold machining center and the aluminum mold machining center are both CNC machine tools, they are different in terms of design, processing object, tool configuration and process parameters
1.Processing object and material properties:
Wood mold processing center: mainly used for the processing of wood or wood composite materials (such as wood plywood formwork). Due to the low hardness and density of wood, as well as its susceptibility to cutting distortion and dust, these machining centers are usually equipped with tools specific to the characteristics of the wood, such as HSS or carbide milling cutters, and may have good suction and chip evacuation systems.
Aluminum mold machining center: mainly used to process aluminum alloy and other metal mold materials, aluminum alloy has high strength, light weight and good thermal conductivity, so it is necessary to use cemented carbide tools that can cut metal efficiently, and even CBN (cubic boron nitride) or diamond tools. Aluminum mold machining requires higher cutting speeds and feed rates, while reducing the influence of cutting heat on the workpiece.
2.Machine structure and rigidity:
Wood mold machining centers may not need to be as rigid and stable as aluminum mold machining centers, because the cutting forces of wood are relatively small.
In order to cope with the high cutting force of metal materials and maintain accuracy, the machine bed, spindle components and the entire mechanical structure of aluminum mold machining centers are often stronger and more rigid.
3.Control Systems & Programming:
Both are precisely controlled by CNC (Computer Numerical Control) systems, but due to differences in material properties, the cutting parameters, path planning, and cooling and lubrication strategies during programming will be different.
4.Tool magazine and tool change system:
Due to the different processing materials, the types and specifications of tools stored in the tool magazine equipped with the two machining centers will be different, and the aluminum mold machining center may need more diverse tools to adapt to complex shapes and high-precision requirements.
To sum up, whether it is a wood mold machining center or an aluminum mold machining center, it is a special CNC equipment designed and optimized according to the characteristics of their respective processing materials to meet the needs of mold manufacturing in specific industries.