Use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) to Fabricate Injection Molding Inserts

Abstract

-Using Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce inserts for injection molding of parts used for rapid quote can drastically reduce costs and time frame. Prototype injection molding currently can take weeks and thousands of dollars to develop and manufacture, making AM as a very viable option. Functional prototypes of mold inserts were developed and analyzed with CAD software, then printed on a 3D printer, and tested using industrial plastic injection molding equipment. Calculations for cooling and mold compression were used to develop guidelines for future parts. Measurements were taken on the molded parts in order to validate calculations and dimensions. This methodology is beneficial to industry because a company can rapidly and efficiently produce functional parts for quoting for prospective clients. Abstract -Using Additive Manufacturing (AM) to produce inserts for injection molding of parts used for rapid quote can drastically reduce costs and time frame. Prototype injection molding currently can take weeks and thousands of dollars to develop and manufacture, making AM as a very viable option. Functional prototypes of mold inserts were developed and analyzed with CAD software, then printed on a 3D printer, and tested using industrial plastic injection molding equipment. Calculations for cooling and mold compression were used to develop guidelines for future parts. Measurements were taken on the molded parts in order to validate calculations and dimensions. This methodology is beneficial to industry because a company can rapidly and efficiently produce functional parts for quoting for prospective clients. Keywords

Adaption of 3D Printing for Rapid Tooling

“…The reason why fewer mold inserts have been tested is because the average mold life is extended with polypropylene due to the lower temperature for the material melting point. Lower cycle times with polypropylene due to the lower injection temperature result in more parts per mold, with the mold insert being completely removed after four or five shots [9].…”

“…Objet30 Pro uses a Polyjet technology similar to an inkjet printer, which uses a print head that applies thin layers of light-sensitive material instead of water-based ink. The Objet 30 machine has the ability to print layers of Digital ABS material with a thickness of 30 microns and an accuracy of up to 0.1 mm [9]. The material used for the moldings was (polypropylene, Novolen®, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany).…”

“…This aspect must be taken into account when designing an injection mold. [9] In this thesis the feasibility of the use of additive manufacturing for small series could be determined and functional injection molded parts could be produced. An injection mold with mold inserts and cavities for test parts was developed to determine the temperatures of the materials as well as the injection pressures, the load capacity, surface quality and the service life of the 3Dprinted mold inserts.…”

Systematische Erfassung von Einflussfaktoren für das Additive Tooling von Spritzgusswerkzeugen

“…Verschiedene Untersuchungen zeigen, dass dadurch eine effektivere Wärmeableitung erreicht werden kann als mit Kühlkanälen mit kreisförmigem Querschnitt [9][10][11]. Da die Kanäle für eine effektive Wärmeabfuhr, bedingt durch die schlechte Wärmeleitfähigkeit der Polymerwerkzeuge, nah an der Kavität liegen müssten, würde sich dadurch jedoch eine zu geringe Wandstärke ergeben, die dem Druck durch die Kunststoffschmelze meist nicht mehr standhalten kann [12]. Ein Versagen der AT-Formeinsätze ist die Folge.…”