Actually, the important points in mold making are still carried out using analog techniques. Even when designs are created using the latest digital CAD and machining is performed using a high-speed machine based on the design data, the final processing and finishing of molds is still carried out by human hands. Even if the molds are made by combining several parts that have each been machined correctly in accordance with the design drawings, does this mean that excellent products be formed by this process alone? The answer is no.

Some people believe that these days, molds can be made easily provided the 3D data is available. But in fact, even if a mold is made correctly according to precise 3D drawings, this means nothing unless the products that will be made using the mold can be formed consistently under mass production conditions.

From now on, it is anticipated that technology will continue to progress with more processes being digitalized and machining precision improving remarkably. But unless machines equipped with human sensitivity are developed, skilled human craftsmen will always need to be concerned with some aspects of mold production.

In mold machining, there are many parts that require mirror-level finishing both for the sake of ensuring beautiful product finishing and in order to reduce the coefficient of friction and thereby extend the mold's working life. There are many kinds of mirror surface, and the required surface roughness varies according to mold's usage conditions, ranging from surfaces that can be approved by visual means to those that require nano-level precision

In many cases, polish processing is a skilled manual task that requires many hours of labor and is the most time consuming of all mold-processing tasks.

At present, there are some good machines available for flat surface polishing, but there are no machines that can decisively and freely polish the complex curved surfaces of 3D shapes.

Matsuno has attained the ultimate in polishing by making proper use of processing methods that pursue polish-free processing with master craftsmen's technology in the fields of cutting and mechanical abrasion according to the mold's purpose and location of use.