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Next logical step is 3d-print those Aluminum molds.
by atupis 6y ago
Next logical step is 3d-print those Aluminum molds.
- s1artibartfast 6y agoWhy? CNC machining provides better quality and is faster. You can CNC a simple mold in minutes with precision that exceeds any 3D printing technology.
- VBprogrammer 6y agoOne possible reason would be to allow geometry which isn't easily milled. Perhaps cooling jackets, for example, could be incorporated into the mold for example.
- avianlyric 6y agoBeyond the cooling jackets there isn’t really going to be anything hard to mill. If the geometry is hard to mill, then it’s almost certainly inappropriate for injection moulding (assuming you actually want to extract your injection moulded object from the mould).
- lylecheatham 6y agoMinutes is a stretch. It will likely take multiple tools and setups to make a mold, and even more if you're starting from a billet that needs facing etc.
- s1artibartfast 6y agoI agree it is definitely a stretch for a full mold, but was thinking along the lines of an mold pocket insert, like those which can be 3D printed [1]. You could make this from reasonably sized stock with 2 setups. First you rough the shape and cut the mold cavity, then you remove the stock and face the backside. I'm used to an automatic tool changer, which would be needed if you want to go fast https://www.pressebox.com/pressrelease/apium-additive-technologies-gmbh/Time-and-Cost-Saving-Additive-Manufacturing-of-Casting-Molds-for-Injection-Molding/boxid/830656 https://www.pressebox.com/pressrelease/apium-additive-techno...
- praptak 6y agoIs there actual 3D printing of metals? Last time I checked there was a very difficult process of 3d printing resin-on-dust, then pre-baking the dust-resin form, then soaking it in molten metal. Also it wasn't aluminium.
- TheGallopedHigh 6y agoYes there is 3D printing of metals. I’ve seen it predominantly in aerospace parts or rocketry
- megablast 6y agoDid you read the article?? They printed a metal propeller for the boat.
- jononor 6y agoHigh temperature resins can be 3d-printed and used for molds. These can be used for low-run injection molding or vacuumforming. Formlabs have some content on the topic: https://formlabs.com/blog/braskem-3d-printing-injection-molding/ https://formlabs.com/blog/braskem-3d-printing-injection-mold...
- s1mon 6y agoAt one point aluminum tools were a good trade off in time vs quality, but these days they only save maybe 10-20% of the tooling schedule and cost over steel. Tool life and robustness isn’t great so they’re not so popular any more. Usually when someone says “soft tooling” these days, they just mean softer steel which is slightly cheaper and faster to machine, at some trade off in tool life. There are already 3D printed steel core and cavity inserts for injection molds. They laser sinter powdered metal and then run a very tiny ball end mill around each layer to clean up the surface finish. Traditional CNC and EDM is still how most molds are made, but occasionally it makes sense to 3D print. You can get cooling lines in patterns that are impossible to machine and you can make tools faster sometimes. The costs for the machines are very high, and the size of the parts are limited.
- bsder 6y agoWhy? You just 3D print steel ones. You use the metal sintering printer to deposit the metal. Then you use an in-envelope milling head to polish it. The cooling can be conformal since the shape isn't limited by milling technology. And, since molds have a lead time of at least 6 weeks (and generally worse because something always goes wrong), speed isn't the issue. There was a good talk at Molding 2018 by the CEO of a Silicon Valley medical prototyping company about how his folks simply won't deal with conventional molds anymore and he has bought 3 of the 3D metal printers with in-envelope milling heads. Unfortunately, the Molding conference website is a dumpster fire for useful technical information. If I can remember the name of the company, I'll reply.