With the development of modern industry, molds have been widely used in automobiles, home appliances, consumer electronics, instrumentation, aerospace and medical equipment and other products, of which about 60%-80% of parts and components need to rely on mold processing and molding, as one of the new quality productivity of metal 3D printing technology, in the field of injection molding and die-casting molds is showing a strong growth momentum and a wide range of application prospects.
Guangdong Kaiben 3D Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest professional teams to promote the industrialization of metal 3D printing molds in China, focusing on industrial 3D printing applications for 14 years, including 3D conformal cooling molds/exhaust applications for 8 years, is one of the few teams in China with rich experience in molds and SLM metal 3D printing applications, and is currently equipped with a number of Huashu Hi-Tech FS200M series metal 3D printing equipment for injection molding, die-casting mold industrial production.
Since its establishment, Kaiben 3D has helped more than 600 industrial manufacturing enterprises such as Midea, Mattel, Luxshare, Flextronics, TTI, Foxconn, Tyco, Lingyi Precision to reduce costs and increase efficiency through 3D printing technology, and participated in the mold projects of many global brand customers such as Fackbook, PMI, Dyson, Sonos, Jabra, Hallmark, etc., and presided over the formulation of standard documents such as 3D conformal waterway design specifications and mold steel printing process specifications. Kaiben 3D has been highly recognized by many mold companies with professional service, stable quality and high cost performance.
"With its advantages of high efficiency, precision, flexibility, high efficiency and environmental protection, metal 3D printing has been widely proven to improve the cycle time of injection/die casting production and improve product quality, and is playing an indispensable role in the mold industry. This technology will gradually change the traditional mode of mold manufacturing and promote the innovation and industrialization development of the mold industry. ”
Zhang Lei
General Manager of Kaiben 3D
In this issue, Zhang Lei, general manager of Kaiben 3D, introduced in detail several typical problems in the application of metal 3D printing technology in conformal cooling molds——
In this issue, Mr. Zhang Lei, general manager of Kaiben 3D, introduced in detail several typical problems in the application of metal 3D printing technology in conformal cooling molds——
01
Inserts and molds are more suitable for 3D printing
Kaiben 3D Mr. Zhang introduced that metal 3D printing can help most of the injection molding, die-casting molds rapid cooling optimization, but from the cost and time considerations, the overall printing of the mold is not suitable, more suitable for metal 3D printing technology is part of the inserts, mold kernels, such as sprue sleeves, inclined tops, mold core backing plates, back mold inserts, front mold inserts, sliders, etc.
At the same time, products with large injection volume, complex structure, multi-deep ribs, and high size/flatness requirements can give priority to 3D printing. Some molds with injection molding quality problems, such as gate burns, wire drawing, solar circles, and trapped gas, can also be improved by 3D printing technology.
The mold workpiece of metal 3D printing is a rough part, which generally needs to be refined. The dimensional accuracy of the initial printing is ±0.2mm, the surface roughness is Ra8-12, and the margin of 0.8mm is usually reserved for secondary finishing when printing, and the finishing method is no different from the traditional die steel.
02
The mold polishing grade is above A2
At present, the density of the mold workpiece produced by Kaiben 3D using Huashu metal 3D printing equipment is nearly 100%, and the polishing grade is above A2, which can meet the requirements of most molds, such as cosmetics packaging, various transparent containers, etc. For a small number of parts that require a higher polish grade (A1 grade and above), a dedicated tooling process parameter package can be used to meet production needs.
03
70% with automatic grafting printing
Huashu Hi-Tech has launched the automatic grafting function for customers in the mold industry, which can provide reference points for parts, save the cumbersome and time-consuming traditional positioning work, and the positioning accuracy can reach up to 0.05mm. When printing a mold workpiece with a large size, the part of the base can be processed by traditional machining, and automatic grafting printing can be carried out on the machining base, which can significantly reduce the printing cost and shorten the printing time.
Some customers are often worried about the strength of grafting printing, such as whether the joint will crack and seep, whether the overall life is sacrificed, etc., in fact, grafting printing is a very mature process, and there is no obvious difference between grafting printing life and overall printing. At present, more than 70% of Kaiben 3D molds will be automatically grafted and printed. However, it should be noted that the printing material and the grafting material need to be strictly corresponded to ensure the bonding strength.
04
3D printing molds are becoming more and more widely used
With the gradual localization of metal 3D printing equipment and materials, the cost of mold printing is decreasing year by year in recent years.
Mr. Zhang said that although 3D printing will increase the cost of mold manufacturing by a small amount, the increased cost is easy to recover in the injection molding stage because rapid conformal cooling can significantly shorten the demoulding cycle by 20%-40%. The cost of mold printing mainly depends on the printing complexity, which is related to the volume, structure and working hours of the workpiece, and the application of metal 3D printing in injection mold manufacturing will become more and more extensive in the future.