VISI’s Vital Role In High Profile Research Projects For Onni-Stamp

Set up in 1980, the company combines the experience of expert craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technologies. Onni-Stamp incorporates fully integrated project management into its core business of creating moulds for plastic materials. The owner’s son, Alessio Goria, says the company works alongside the client from the very first stages of the project through co-creation and co-design activities, with the goal of producing products that are easier to manufacture, more cost-effective and of higher quality.

 

Once product design is complete, Onni-Stamp uses VISI to assist in finding the most appropriate technical or economic production solutions according to quality requirements, size of production batches and economic investment.

“We’ve worked with VISI’s Italian reseller, Vero Solutions, for many years. Their technical and commercial support goes beyond the use of the software, extending to a genuine collaboration in solving particular problems, ranging from managing product deformation to managing the coding of mould components at CAD level,” he says. “For example, we’ve worked with Vero Solutions in the past to create a fibreglass component for the automotive sector, which was characterised by great deformation. The skill and experience of the Vero Solutions team allowed us to create the part, using a specific VISI module.”

Onni-Stamp’s technical department has six VISI stations with VISI Modelling, VISI Flow, VISI Machining, and VISI Mould modules, as well as viewers in the workshop. “VISI plays a vital role at each stage, beginning with research. We work alongside our clients every day in product development and research projects,” explains Alessio Goria. “For example, moulds have been created with channels shaped to guarantee greater cost effectiveness and energy efficiency in moulding with dynamic conditioning, and optimising the models and parameters used to simulate the process through the use of pressure and temperature sensors inside the mould.”

To extend their knowledge and perspective, they have worked on European and regional research projects with universities, research centres and companies regarding polymer processing.

One of the most important was Thermonano, which studied thermally-conducting polymer nanocomposites for making heat exchangers. “We tested the technologies most suited to converting thermally-conducting nanocomposites”, he says. “These are materials of great interest for applications where thermal conductivity, resistance to high temperatures and good mechanical resistance at operating temperature are required at the same time.”

The materials tested had presented certain critical issues and essential differences in transformation with respect to traditional polymers. Onni-Stamp was tasked with simulating and optimising the process using VISI Flow, a unique plastic flow prediction tool, ideal for pre and post production analysis and concurrent engineering of injection moulded components.

A couple of other research projects where VISI played a vital role for them:

As an essential part of their everyday tasks, once the mould has been created, the company then works alongside the client in the first stages of production, providing support for pre-production moulding or for checking product dimensions. With increasing frequency, they also handle the subsequent maintenance, and any modifications to the mould.

 

says that as design engineers no longer stand at the milling machines, the operators must also be able to understand and operate the system. “VISI is so easy to use – which I consider to be another great strength.”

Over time, they have developed a complete range of services, all of which can be performed autonomously. “We’re are now seeking to expand our services in two directions: first by creating non-conventional moulds that employ advanced moulding technologies, able to guarantee better end results compared to traditional technologies; and secondly by creating equipment used by clients during the production stage that permits beneficial synergies if well interfaced with the mould.”

Operating in a range of markets including automotive, technical items, healthcare and toys, Onni-Stamp has recently invested in new machinery including a high precision Röders 5-axis machining centre, high-speed graphite machining centre, and an EDM machine cell.

 

Referring to the latest software release, the company list a number of new and enhanced functionality in VISI’s 2016 release as particularly valuable for optimising the workflow process, and reducing mould design and production times: