AIM Institute Adds Mold Maintenance Training Courses

American Injection Molding (AIM) Institute — which already trains molders in materials, mold design, part design, and simulation — will now offer mold maintenance education, following the acquisition from Steve Johnson, owner and founder of Moldtrax, of his training courses and specialized equipment.

When Johnson decided to discontinue MoldTrax’s in-person training to focus on the continued advancement of his MTWEB mold documentation/tracking software, he sought a buyer that would utilize his equipment and lesson plans to continue teaching these skills through hands-on mold maintenance training courses. This lead him to AIM.

In a release, Johnson said he’s watched AIM grow since its creation in 2015 and sees that evolution as creating a natural home for Moldtrax’s in-person training. “It’s going to be a perfect fit for the industry because [the AIM Institute] is going to be a one-stop shop. That’s one of the goals I’ve always had since day one,” Johnson said.

Beaumont Vice President Alex Beaumont told Plastics Technology that he also sees the addition of mold maintenance as getting AIM closer to a complete training resource for injection molding companies. “Adding mold maintenance helps complete that circle,” Beaumont said. “Anything in injection molding you need education wise, there’s a resource for you, whether it’s a 4-hour course, 10-month program up to 2-year apprenticeship.”

The acquired equipment includes four 3-by-12-ft steel die benches and a bridge crane for moving tools, as well a Blue Wave Ultrasonic mold cleaner, Cold Jet dry ice blaster, and an EcoPro 360 mold channel cleaning system. In addition, the course gives students hands on access to a surface grinder, milling machine, lathe, Gesswein laser welder, and polishing and measuring equipment. Most recently, it was gifted some new molds for training purposes.

The AIM Institute said it will eventually create new courses to use with the acquired training molds that will cover a variety of maintenance topics, including mold and hot runner maintenance and repair, toolroom management, tooling components and texturing.

The AIM Institute is currently building a Mold Maintenance Center of Excellence at its facility in Erie, where the new courses will eventually be held. In the meantime, these courses will be held at the Ashland, Ohio facility beginning in late August. MoldTrax will continue to operate and to provide its software and support services.

Glenn Keith, formerly an instructor with Moldtrax who will move with the program to AIM, said the combination with AIM jibes with founder’s ultimate plan for the program. In that scenario, mold maintenance students would complete training troubleshoot a problem, take corrective action with the tool, and then test the mold in a machine to verify the maintenance and repairs were done correctly.

“[Johnson’s] vision, and he was never able to pull it together, was to bring in the molding machine aspect of it,” Keith says.