Article | REF: BM7944 V1

Polymer Molds and Tools for the Plastic Industry Produced by Addictive Manufacturing

Authors: Thomas JOFFRE, Jean-Christophe BORNÉAT

Publication date: September 10, 2023

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ABSTRACT

Tools, mold inserts and shapers can be manufactured using polymer additive manufacturing technologies aiming to reduce both lead times and cost compared to conventional machining technologies. These cost efficient tools are today used for prototyping and small serial production. As polymer molds have lower performances and lower thermal conductivity, the productivity will be lower than tools in steel. In this article, the additive manufacturing processes and materials used for polymer mold production are described.

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AUTHORS

  • Thomas JOFFRE: Additive Manufacturing Program Manager - IPC – Centre Technique Industriel de la Plasturgie et des Composites, Oyonnax, France

  • Jean-Christophe BORNÉAT: Additive Manufacturing Project Manager - IPC – Centre Technique Industriel de la Plasturgie et des Composites, Oyonnax, France

 INTRODUCTION

Polymer additive manufacturing is booming in a number of sectors, including the automotive, medical and aerospace industries.

Polymer additive manufacturing has established itself as an essential means of producing prototypes and mock-ups. By printing a prototype, a part can be tested before the more expensive metal tooling is used for mass production.

Polymer additive manufacturing, on the other hand, remains a delicate process for mass production. Although many counter-examples exist, polymer additive manufacturing cannot achieve production rates competitive with plastic injection molding, and production runs of over 1,000 parts are rare.

Moreover, in some areas, parts obtained by additive manufacturing do not meet customer requirements: mechanical performance and durability are not equivalent to those of an injected part, the surface finish does not allow the same metallization techniques to be used, and the material grades are different from those used in injection molding. The transition from plastic injection molding to additive manufacturing remains a challenge for the plastics processing industry: it is necessary to requalify a material and readapt a design in order to adapt to the constraints of the process.

However, additive polymer manufacturing can also bring flexibility and agility to conventional plastics processes (injection, thermoforming, extrusion): it is possible to print complex geometries and their thermal regulation channels (injection molds, conformers or thermoforming molds) in a very short time and at a controlled price: an injection tool up to 300 cm 3 can be produced in less than 24 hours. While conventional metal toolmaking requires several stages (machining, wire cutting, EDM, texturing), additive polymer manufacturing reduces the number of stages, making polymer toolmaking more responsive. On the other hand, the tooling produced has a limited lifespan compared with conventional metal tooling, particularly when abrasive materials are used, and lower productivity: as the polymer is insulating, the heat transfer between plastic material and tooling will be lower, and the time required to cool the plastic is consequently longer. Today, polymer additive manufacturing mold inserts are therefore not suitable for mass production (runs of over 5,000 parts).

In this article, the various polymer material/additive manufacturing technology combinations available for tooling applications are briefly presented. This is followed by a description of concrete use cases in injection, thermoforming and extrusion, to give an overview of the technology and its benefits for plastics processing. These examples are followed by a techno-economic...

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KEYWORDS

extrusion   |   injection molding   |   thermoforming   |   mold inserts


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Polymer additive manufacturing tools for the plastics industry