3D Printing in Molding Industry

3D Printing in Molding Industry

Injection moulding 

Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a mould. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals, (for which the process is called die-casting), glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity.

After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould-maker (or toolmaker) from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels of cars. Advances in  3D printing technology, using photopolymers which do not melt during the injection moulding of some lower temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection moulds.

Custom Plastic Injection Molding

3D print molds for prototyping in the final material

Poly Jet 3D Printing has made it feasible to quickly create custom injection molds that produce low volumes of parts in the final production plastic.

This is especially useful for prototypes, which can now be created onsite in just hours, from mold design to final test product, using the normal plastic injection molding process and production materials for accurate functional testing.

Print molds for prototyping

The world’s most advanced 3D printing Technology, allowing mold designers to print production molds in one or two days as opposed to days and weeks for metal tools.3D Printing helps mold makers when complex geometry would make traditional tooling difficult, low quantities are needed, or design changes are likely.

Shorten production time for mold creation

Mold designers are able to create molds quickly from 3D CAD files with a greatly reduced initial cost.

Design changes are more cost effective

In cases where design changes are required, a new iteration of a mold can be created in-house at minimal cost. This, combined with the speed of Poly Jet 3D printing, allows mold designers and engineers greater design freedom.

Accurate mold design

Molds created in Digital ABS material can be precisely built in 30 micron layers, with accuracy as high as 0.1 mm. These production features create a smooth surface finish so post-processing is not needed in most cases.

Applications:

• Injection moulding is used to createmany things such as Cups, Containers, tools, Mechanical parts (Including gears).
• Injection moulding is the most common modern method of manufacturing parts. It is ideal for producing high volumes of the same object.

Advantages:

• Injection moulding allows for high production output rates.
• Often time’s parts do not need additional finishing process.
• You may also use fillers for added strength.
• More than one-material may be used at the same time when utilizing co-injection moulding.
• Full automation is possible with injection moulding.