Digital Molding Factory
A digital molding system from Stratasys closes the gap between rapid prototyping and aluminum/steel tooling. It gives engineers the option to perform required regulatory and safety
tests on the actual product earlier in the process, validating the design and moving forward
to production.
Approximately 60 toy race cars like the one shown above were made by injecting
polypropylene (PP) into the small mold pictured here, which was printed from digital ABS
material in an Objet Connex260 printer. This run provided a sense of the design, including the
snap fts that connect the car body to the wheels, which were formed in a separate mold.
Printing the mold for the car body took about six hours, and it cost less than $1,000.
High-Density, Non-Porous,
Chemically Pure Metal Parts
Direct metal sintering (DMS) technology allows the accurate,
direct printing of high-density, non-porous, chemically pure
metal parts (such as this one printed by 3D Systems), yielding
high repeatability, reliability and quality.
Metal end-use parts and tooling inserts can be directly
and quickly created via this process, cutting out intermediate
and time-consuming steps required in traditional manufacturing. This includes complex parts and shapes that would be
nearly impossible to produce using traditional methods. In
addition, direct-metal-sintered tooling can be used in the production process within a day or two after manufacture, rather
than after waiting weeks for the tooling to be machined.
A selection of materials can be used in DMS systems,
including stainless steel, tool steel, super alloys, non-ferrous
alloys, precious metals and alumina used in the aerospace,
automotive and medical device industries.
AdditiveManufacturingInsight.com February 2014 — 11