The main component of automotive molds is the cover mold. This type of mold is mainly a cold die. The "automotive mold" in a broad sense is a general term for the molds that make all the parts on a car. Stampings on automotive bodies are broadly divided into cover members, beam members, and general stampings. A stamping that can clearly represent the characteristics of a car is a car cover. Therefore, the more specific automobile mold can be said to be "automotive cover stamping die". Referred to as the car cover die. For example, the front door outer panel trimming die, the front door inner panel punching die, and the like.

　　It is reported that the manufacture of a regular car requires about 1,500 sets of molds, of which about 1,000 sets of stamping molds. In the development of new models, 90% of the workload is carried out around the changes in the body profile. About 60% of the development cost of new models is used for the development of body and stamping processes and equipment. About 40% of the total manufacturing cost of the vehicle is the cost of the body stamping and its assembly.

　　The flourishing development of the mold market, the competition between mold enterprises and products is also increasingly fierce. On the one hand, the mold industry is accelerated to integrate with the domestic and foreign markets, and on the other hand, due to the irregular market order, it also brings disorderly competition among mold companies.

      At present, the competition in China's high-end mold market is mainly the competition between China's key backbone mold enterprises and “three-capital” enterprises. The competition in the middle and low-end mold market is mainly competition among private enterprises. “The growth of international mold capital in China has brought capital, technology and advanced equipment, but it has also brought pressure to Chinese local mold manufacturing enterprises, which has intensified market competition.” Luo Baihui, secretary general of the International Model Association, said that With the backward mold manufacturing level in China, the multinational mold group not only has strong capital, advanced technology, high-quality equipment and successful mold experience accumulated over the years, but also competes in the domestic mold market with the cost advantage of hiring China's relatively low labor resources. Leading many domestic mold companies. However, due to the limitations of private enterprises, the price war of molds is common in the competition of the low-end mold market. Many mold companies are willing to process molds at a price lower than the cost in order to receive orders, and low prices bring low quality. It has intensified the disorderly competition in the mold market and the mold material market, which has seriously affected the survival of some mold companies. This is worthy of attention in the industry.

　　In the development of the automotive mold industry at home and abroad, mold technology presents the following development trends.

　　1. The position of mold 3D design is consolidated

　　The three-dimensional design of the mold is an important part of the digital mold technology, and is the basis for the integration of mold design, manufacturing and inspection. Japan Toyota, the United States and other companies have achieved the three-dimensional design of the mold, and achieved good application results. Some of the practices adopted by foreign countries in the three-dimensional design of molds are worth learning. In addition to facilitating integrated manufacturing, the three-dimensional design of the mold is convenient for interference checking, and can perform motion interference analysis to solve a problem in the two-dimensional design.

　　2. The simulated CAE effect of the stamping forming process is more prominent

　　In recent years, with the rapid development of computer software and hardware, the CAE of the stamping forming process has played an increasingly important role. In the United States, Japan, Germany and other developed countries, CAE technology has become a necessary part of the mold design and manufacturing process, widely used to predict forming defects, optimize the stamping process and mold structure, improve the reliability of mold design, and reduce the test time. Many domestic auto mold companies have made significant progress in the application of CAE and achieved good results. The application of CAE technology can greatly reduce the cost of trial mold and shorten the development cycle of stamping die, which has become an important means to ensure the quality of the mold. CAE technology is gradually transforming mold design from empirical design to scientific design.

　　3. Digital mold technology has become the mainstream

　　The rapid development of digital mold technology in recent years is an effective way to solve many problems faced in the development of automotive molds. The so-called digital mold technology is the application of computer technology or computer aided technology CAX in the mold design and manufacturing process. Summarize the successful experience of computer-aided technology in automotive mold enterprises at home and abroad. Digital automotive mold technology mainly includes the following aspects: 1 Designable DFM, which considers and analyzes manufacturability during design to ensure the success of the process.