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As a special type of mechanical product, molds, and the mold industry as a distinct sector within the machinery industry, cannot function in the same way as other mechanical industries and products. For the mechanical products developed and manufactured in this field, it is not sufficient to rely solely on the theoretical designs of designers in order to ensure that the resulting components or products meet the desired functions and performance requirements. In other words, for most other mechanical products, if the manufacturing process can achieve the design specifications with high precision, the final product will not deviate significantly from the original design intent; a well-designed product can thus be produced under proper manufacturing conditions. Moreover, the theoretical foundations behind the design of such products have become highly mature, refined, and practical over decades, or even hundreds of years, through continuous research and practical application in established capitalist countries. This is true for various types of machine tools and power equipment, for example. Mold products are different. Whether it is high-temperature flow molding such as injection molding or die casting, or plastic molding through stamping at room temperature, although these processes have been under research and use for decades, the underlying theories and mathematical models are often imperfect and inaccurate, which leads to significant uncertainties. Especially in our country, reliance is still placed on on-site tuning experience in order to improve mold products as much as possible and ensure that they meet the requirements of users. Therefore, at the design stage, what can be done for now can only serve as a “rough processing step” within the overall mold manufacturing process and quality control framework ! In other words, the quality of molds ultimately depends on the skills of mold fitters. The ultimate competition between mold products from different manufacturers might well be a contest of the craftsmanship of these mold fitters, while in this industry, designers and those involved in the preliminary processing steps can only play a supporting role in such competitions. I don’t know whether my fellow professionals agree with this, as I haven’t mentioned it before, but it is indeed a fact. No matter how perfect the mold design, no matter how good the drawings are, and no matter how expensive the equipment, in the end it is the mold fitters who bring to life the work and expertise embodied in those elements. Without them, our designs would likely be nothing but scrap metal! ! ! Furthermore, at present, our research on mold structures, especially those with relatively complex mechanical designs (such as the various wedge-driven mechanisms used in automotive molds), does not seem to be thorough enough. We also lack technologies or even patents that would allow us to lead internationally; for advanced and complex structures, we still have to rely on foreign examples for design purposes, as our capacity for independent research and development is relatively weak. On the other hand, the skill level of machinists in assembling and adjusting such mechanisms may actually be better than that in foreign countries. As mentioned earlier, the imperfections in plastic forming theory and mathematical models lead to inadequate analysis and design of stamping processes, requiring extensive adjustments by fitters later on. There is likely no quick solution to this problem; designers can thus find reasons to shirk responsibility to some extent. However, when it comes to the poor quality of the mechanical structure of the molds, it’s harder to avoid taking responsibility for such fundamental flaws. Of course, I believe this is caused by various factors. Firstly, the more advanced mechanical structures for molds are typically used only for relatively complex parts and manufacturing processes, such as the pressing of components like car side panels, fender panels, and engine hoods. Due to factors such as joint ventures between domestic and foreign companies, it is difficult for domestic automotive manufacturers to have domestic mold manufacturers produce molds for such products; as for similar parts of entirely new vehicle models, there are even fewer such cases. Therefore, we have few opportunities to put these skills into practice. Some capable manufacturers may carry out theoretical design exercises when they have less production work to do, but whether those efforts yield any actual results remains unknown to everyone but them ! Secondly, even when faced with such challenging opportunities, most manufacturers will go to great lengths to find foreign design drawings before they can proceed with the design process. The resulting mechanical structure may be improved and refined, resulting in mold products with Chinese characteristics that could even be exported to those countries. Yet it remains difficult to truly label them as “MADE IN CHINA” – foreign designs combined with Chinese steel; it’s not hard to do this, haha. Therefore, our mold industry suffers from an inherent deficiency in terms of originality and independent technology, both in terms of design and development as well as mechanical processing. The only potential advantage lies in the sophisticated skills of mold fitters, which evolved from our ancestors’ expertise in casting and forging. When the World Mold Fitter Competition is held, there’s a high chance that our competitors will win more acclaim than there was when Ah Beng stepped down from office; let me take on this task – I will surely succeed! !