摘要
Rotation sintering, also known as slush molding, is used to manufacture molded skins, such as dashboards or door interior panels for cars. At present, approximately 80% of such molded skins are manufactured using electroforms to achieve the complex free-form surfaces, and surface structures, such as leather graining that the industry demands. The manufacture of these electroforms is, however, time-consuming and expensive. This project aims to replace conventional electroforms with laser-drilled molds. Holes in tool molds should be drilled by using laser radiation as part of an automated process. The system consists of a robot with a fiber-laser beam source. A CAx （computer-aided x） process chain has been developed for this purpose in which the CAD （computer-aided design） data of the tool molds are processed, drill hole fields generated, and a machine-specific RC （robot control） program created. Process-specific fundamentals, such as suitable process windows and process control, have been devised to manufacture holes using fiber laser radiation The advantages of the new laser-drilled tool molds may result in substituting them for conventional electroforms, allowing old markets to be re-entered or additional markets to be created and targeted through new molds or lower costs.
