Texturing   The most specialized, secretive and demanded process for plastic tooling is our latest and most succesfull addition to the range of services we offer to the plastic industry. Texturing or chemical etching.                                                                                          What texture do I need? The aspect and texture of leather, wood, fabric or geometric patterns is the actual trend most car interior designers are following. There are also random patterns of dots or bumps, either raised or depressed. Other resemble sand paper or even the finish left by the EDM process used to cut the mold cavities.                                                            Can a textured mold be repaired? Yes. We can work to the customer´s requirements or can simulate most exsisting paterns in all fields. Automotive, home appliances, electronics, consumer goods, etc. When the damage is small and depending on the type of texture, it can even be done in the customer´s facilities.                                                                 What restrictions are there? Draft angles have to be carefully considered. At least 1.5 degree per each 0.001" of texture depth is required to allow for the proper ejection of the molded part. Welding, if unavoidable, has to be done after a proper pre-heating and using a rod of the same material of the mold. Inserts, plugs and other parts made of different materials may be attacked at a different rate as the rest of the mold. So, when possible, they must be avoided or textured separately at additional cost.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   TEXTURE QUALITY  The texturing process or chemical etching is an art or craft. It is not produced with machines, thus, is not comparable to EDM, CNC machining or pantograph copying. Photography, photocopy as well as manual retouch and detailing of a negative are involved. Then, a printing of a special flexible material and manual transfer to the surfaces that are to be textured. As a consecuence, it is sometimes impossible to avoid slight variations or obtain a perfect match. Geometric patterns or totally regular designs are more subject to show mis-allignment or deviations, mainly on curved areas, part lines or discontinuous surfaces. In the case of local repairs, a blend with the surrounding area is attempted in order to conceal the boudaries of the repaired area, but a perfect match is not always achieved since everything is done manually. In the case of welding repairs, the general recommendations from the tool steel and weld rod manufacturers must be followed strictly to avoid heat affected zones (HAZ), pores, cracks, different alloy from the base tool material, etc. If the repair is carried out by the customer or a third party, we cannot guarantee the texture quality or assume responsibility in case of variation or even damage to the tool. In such cases the customer must inform us about the history of the part before a chemical attack begins. Should a problem arise caused by a previous condition not reported, the customer agrees to pay the full amount regardless of the final outcome. In the case of previous polishing or dressing of the surface, care must be taken to avoid deep scratches or marks as they will be augmented with the chemical attack. The finish must be compatible with the type of desired pattern and its depth. The same criteria of the preceeding paragraph will apply in case the polishing is not carried out by us.   The texture qualitiy or degre of perfection, as well as its price range correspond to the type of surface and available time to return the tool to service. In case of doubt, the customer must ask or request a sample. The customer must specify the desired quality level according to the following criteria. These apply to the inspection of a molded part or an impression taken with a special plastic putty. The metallic surface of the tool must no be regarded as the control surface but only as reference. The textures are inspected visually and tactile. The inspection with instruments or machines is not sanctioned or specified, thus it will no be accepted as a rejection criteria.   Class A. Totally exposed and visible areas subject to scrutiny by the end user on high value and top quality requirement parts. Examples: steering wheels, knobs, instrument panels, dashboards, highly visible exterior trim and other similar automotive parts, products of manual use like cell phones, desk equipment, visible surfaces of house appliances, etc. Defects not detectable at 12” from the eye. Only visible under optimum light,  20/20 vision an less distance or with aid of magnifying lens.   Class B Less visible areas of same kind of products or visible areas of mid and low cost items. Examples: Parts or surfaces that are under the final product, partially occult by other parts, in poor illuminated areas or far from the end user vision such as door frame interiors, chair bases, under dashboard areas, etc. Defects not detectable at 40” with unaided eye.    Clase C Surfaces of low cost items such as cleaning products, trays, toys, throw-away products, textures produced for another reason than aesthetics, etc. Defects somewhat visible at 40” without aid.