This technical booklet aims to give moulders and plasturgists a

global view of aluminium moulds, as regards their design and

their manufacture as also the conditions in which they are used.

After a first part in which the economic advantages of aluminium

moulds compared with conventional steel moulds are underlined,

designers and users will respectively find in the next two

parts of this document a reminder of the physical properties of

aluminium alloys used to manufacture the moulds in general,

and a few rules for design and manufacture of injection moulds

in particular.

The fourth part mainly deals with the methods and practical

conditions for the manufacture of aluminium moulds: high-speed

machining, drilling, polishing, engraving. Last, the reader will find

in the fifth (and last) part a number of recommendations for use

regarding the coolants and welding repair conditions. The following

appendices propose calculation methods for mechanical

and thermal sizing of the moulds, and recommen-dations upon

surface treatments allowing designers to better take advantage of

the potential gains offered by aluminium in terms of productivity,

flexibility, perceived quality of the product, and operating costs.