Published 04/04/2025

PTXPO 2025: Innovations, Impressions and Inspirations

As MMT’s Associate Editor, I had the opportunity to walk the show floor as well as work in the MMT booth, and I’m excited to share my insights on the technology trends that caught my attention — both new and established within the industry.

Fiona Lawler

Associate Editor, MoldMaking Technology

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MMT’s Associate Editor, Fiona Lawler visits Progressive Components’ booth at PTXPO to learn more about its recently acquired Versa-Slide product line.

Technoject featured its recently unveiled MCS Hot Runner Temperature Controller for a user-friendly approach to identification in a hot runner system.

PCS Company, now offering SST’s Micro Welder, provided live demonstrations of the technology at its booth.

From right to left, Fiona Lawler and Christina Fuges with MoldMaking Technology connect with EAB member, Isaac Trevino, business development manager for Best Tool and Engineering.

Mantle highlighted an update to its automated toolmaking system software.The image depicts a complex injection mold core — an example insert produced using the upgraded software capabilities.

The merch at MMT’s booth proved to be a hot commodity on the show floor, especially the Top 10 Reasons to be a Moldmaker t-shirts!

DME Company featured its maintenance solution, CoolingCare, complete with live demonstrations of the application at its booth.

Incoe Corp. highlighted its tried-and-true, localized mold temperature control, Heat-INject Technology.

At Xact Metal’s booth, a variety of parts created using its metal 3D printer were on display.

Conversations were strong across the board, whether it was deep dives regarding tariffs, new technologies on the horizon or just getting to know the people that make up this community on a more personal level.

It was incredibly encouraging to see the members of the moldmaking and plastics industry show up for one another the way they did. From answering questions, to exploring challenges and opportunities within the industry, to forging new introductions and connections, the floor was alight with activity.

To learn more about the mold builders featured at PTXPO 2025, click here.

What’s New and What Works

The show floor highlighted a variety of technologies and products, from software and AI to 3D printing, mold materials and maintenance and repair options. What follows is a general overview of my time at the show and by no means conveys all of that the show floor encompassed. If time allowed, I would have visited every booth to see all the innovative technology the show had to offer.

A technology trend I have noticed gaining more traction is additive manufacturing. Xact Metal’s metal 3D printer offers these benefits and more with the goal in mind to decentralize additive manufacturing, making it more accessible and affordable. Steve Michon, president and owner of Zero Tolerance, a mold builder, was at Xact Metal’s booth to discuss how the company has been utilizing its recently purchased 3D printer to expand the shop’s capabilities in terms of design freedom, prototyping and quick design modifications.

Another additive innovation highlighted on the show floor was found at Mantle’s booth and it comes in the form of a software upgrade. Mantle is well known for its automated toolmaking system, which is well suited for the production of injection molds. The company announced innovative toolpath strategies that it says will decrease print times for tool inserts by up to 20%, while improving surface finish on downfacing surfaces.

Another hot topic among moldmakers? Mold materials. With many established mold materials on the market, I was intrigued to learn more about one of the newer materials highlighted at International Mold Steel’s (IMS) booth. DCMX is a material that serves as an alternative to S7 for plastic injection molds. DCMX provides a higher hardness than S7, is easier to machine and offers stability for heat treatment.

Hot runner technology continues to offer a variety of tried-and-true technologies as well as advancements, particularly when it comes to temperature control. I stopped by Incoe’s booth to learn more about its dynamic localized mold temperature control, Heat IN-ject Technology.

Also featuring temperature control technology on the show floor, Technoject recently unveiled the MCS Hot Runner Temperature Controller, which provides a visual representation for easy identification of the exact hot runner system in operation, enabling operators to quickly identify zone assignments and make necessary adjustments in real time.

Now, let’s talk mold components. I saw a variety of innovation within this category at Progressive Components’ booth. To name just one, the company recently acquired the Versa-Slide product line to offer standard slide action assembly solutions for injection moldmakers. The product functions to reduce lead times and cost while maintaining high quality.

At Hasco’s booth, the company highlighted an assortment of mold component offerings, but one that struck me was its compression spring offerings. Coming in a variety of different sizes, the springs can be adjusted and cut to fit a moldmakers exact need.

In terms of software technology, there were plenty of options to explore. I stopped by Cimatron’s booth to learn more about how the company is utilizing and planning to leverage AI as a tool to transform mold design capabilities. Specifically, to save moldmakers time in automating design tasks — whether it be for a complex or simple mold, large or small.

At Simform by Maya HTT’s booth, the company shared how it is harnessing AI with its generative design technology that provides features to automatically design cooling lines, decreasing engineering-related lead times and costs.

Last but not least, I visited Moldex 3D and EPS FloTek’s shared booth to hear more about its flow analysis software products and consultation services. I learned about the hybrid auto mesher, which functions to automatically adjust mesh size depending on feature size.

Perhaps one of the biggest focuses I saw on the show floor revolved around mold maintenance solutions and products, specifically in terms of repair and cleaning offerings. At PCS Company’s booth I learned more about one of its most recent offerings, SST’s Lase One microwelder which provides a safe, user-friendly, smaller footprint and eco-efficient option for laser welding and repair.

At DME Company’s booth, I had the chance to learn about its dry ice energy cleaning machine. This technology offers moldmakers a quick, lightweight, mobile and flexible option for mold cleaning. Additionally featured at the DME booth was its CoolingCare system, advanced, cooling channel cleaning equipment. The technology is automatic and also offers users the ability to store data for up to 3,000 molds.

At Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales’ booth, I heard a lot of buzz regarding its laser welding and laser engraving demonstrations and capabilities. The company offered attendees the opportunity to weld and engrave their own parts.

Curtain Close

One thing is certain, the show floor offered a variety of new as well as tried-and-true technologies benefiting the moldmaking industry. It was clear to me that with all of these innovations, the industry has a lot of excitement to look forward.

To quickly recap some of my favorite moments of the show, I will share just three.

The two happy hour events at MMT’s booth were fun networking opportunities to see and get to know some newer faces in the industry.
Learning how to play (and still losing, mind you) the Mouldmaking card game was certainly a wild ride.
Sharing meaningful conversations with the personal connections I have forged in the industry thus far. It only makes me more excited to further immerse myself in moldmaking and get to know the individuals who make up this powerfully connected community.

Stay tuned in to learn about the new products, technologies and services soon hitting the market by visiting moldmakingtechnology.com/products.