Tool Life Performance of Injection Mould Tooling Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting for High-Volume Production

Abstract

Rapid Tooling processes are developing and proving to be a reliable method to compete with subtractive techniques for tool making. This paper investigates large volume production of components produced from Selective Laser Melting (SLM) fabricated injection moulding tool inserts. To date, other researchers have focused primarily on investigating the use of additive manufacturing technology for injection moulding for low-volume component production rather than high volume production. In this study, SLM technology has been used to fabricate four Stainless Steel 316L tool inserts of a similar geometry for an after-market automotive spare part. The SLM tool inserts have been evaluated to analyse the maximum number of successful injections and quality of performance. Microstructure inspection and chemical composition analysis have been investigated. Performance tests were conducted for the four tool inserts before and after injection moulding in the context of hardness testing and dimensional accuracy. For the first reported time, 150,000 injected products were successfully produced from the four SLM tool inserts. Tool inserts performance was monitored under actual operating conditions considering high-level demands. In the scope of this research, SLM proved to be a dependable manufacturing technique for most part geometries and an effective alternative to subtractive manufacturing for high-volume injection moulding tools for the aftermarket automotive sector.

Surface Roughness of Interior Fine Flow Channels in Selective Laser Melted Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Components

“…The Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technique was utilized to fabricate internal lightweight cellular structures [ 3 ] and internal cooling channels in aerospace and combustion chamber components [ 8 , 9 ]. The proficiency of this technology was also extended to the creation of internal cooling channels for stainless steel injection molding tools, showcasing its versatility in diverse applications [ 10 , 11 ]. However, exploring SLM’s capabilities in fabricating embedded fine flow channels, with a focus on improving surface texture while maintaining the original CAD shape of TC4 alloy components, remains relatively uncharted.…”

Laser powder bed fusion of the steels used in the plastic injection mould industry: a review of the influence of processing parameters on the final properties

“…In the last few decades, additive manufacturing processes, particularly LPBF, have been widely used in the fabrication of parts and tools with high geometric complexity, challenging the traditional design guidelines for cooling systems in industrial heat-transfer cases, namely in the plastic injection moulding industry [39][40][41][42]. In fact, this technology allows several innovative design approaches to intricate cooling systems in mould inserts, which cannot be manufactured by conventional machining processes [36,41], eliminating some limitations associated with the geometric aspects of the mould's cavity and core [43,44].…”

Selective laser melting for improving quality characteristics of a prism shaped topology injection mould tool insert for the automotive industry

“…Kashouty et al 24 presented a comparative study to assess additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies through fabricating injection mould tool inserts that produced 500 injections. More studies have been carried out by Kashouty et al 25 that proved SLM technology to be a dependable manufacturing technique for most part geometries and an effective alternative to subtractive manufacturing for high-volume injection moulding tools for the aftermarket automotive sector.…”

“…Kashouty et al. 24 presented a comparative study to assess additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies through fabricating injection mould tool inserts that produced 500 injections. More studies have been carried out by Kashouty et al.…”

“…More studies have been carried out by Kashouty et al. 25 that proved SLM technology to be a dependable manufacturing technique for most part geometries and an effective alternative to subtractive manufacturing for high-volume injection moulding tools for the aftermarket automotive sector.…”