3D-Printed Tooling Workflow Achieves Complex Part Prototyping

The prototyping of complex injection-molded components is a long-standing challenge since they require complex tooling, which is expensive and time-consuming to design and produce. Now, Addifab has plugged 3D printing speed and design freedom directly into tool designer workflow, to enable a rewriting of the pilot tooling playbook.

Soluble, 3D-printed injection mold cores and cavities is one of the essential innovations behind the novel Addifab freeform injection molding (FIM). According to the company, these cores and cavities are based on a new class of proprietary 3D printing resins that combine high strength and thermal stability. Moreover, they enable molds to be designed and produced in hours instead of weeks, to provide a high-speed, easy-to-use alternative to conventional metal tool elements for the production of first injection-molded test parts.

The injection molding industry is characterized by a wide selection of materials, and Addifab FIM is reported to be compatible with most. Addifab says customers have used FIM to prototype parts in materials ranging from soft silicone rubbers through PEEK and PAEK, to very hard ceramics and metals, in part sizes spanning from the sub-millimeter domain to baseball bats and prosthetics. Final parts have also featured complicated features like inserts and overmolding.

Importantly, by providing industry with an additive manufacturing (AM) platform that is compatible with their standard materials and machines, and developed with their key prototype requirements in mind, Addifab aims to fundamentally change the way products are developed. FIM encourages this, enabling users to in-source and fast-track pilot tool prototyping, to verify even the most complex injection-molded parts before cutting the first piece of metal.