Tooling

INDUSTRIAL 3D PRINTING FOR TOOLING – FUNCTION INTEGRATION, FASTER AMORTISATION

Additive Manufacturing from EOS increase both the productivity of the tools and the product quality

In many industries, the production of specialist tools us one of the most expensive aspects of the production processes. It is generally expensive, time consuming and very technically demanding to use conventional processes. EOS has the solution: Based on Additive Manufacturing, EOS enables single parts or individualised serial products to be manufactured quickly, cost-effectively and flexibly – even in small batch sizes.

Even highly complex forms and designs with integrated cooling or tempering channels are not a problem for Additive Manufacturing. Conventional production processes reach the limit of their capabilities here:They restrict design and construction freedom because, for example, the only solution for cooling is often simply to drill the required channels. Also, as a tool becomes more complex, so the costs associated with it rise enormously.

The design benefits of Additive Manufacturing from EOS increase both the productivity of the tools and the plastic product quality. Scrap rate and cost per part decline. In addition, manufacturers profit from cycle time reduction and longer service life for tools. They can also bring their products to market more quickl. For example, Innomia managed to reduce the time-to-market from 18 to 13 days in comparison with conventional tool manufacture as part of a tool optimisation project by using Additive Manufacturing.

BENEFITS OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING FOR TOOLING

  • Maximum freedom of design
  • Design-driven manufacturing
  • Highly productive tools, faster amortisation
  • Flexible manufacturing processes, for example the choice between hybrid construction / non-hybrid construction
  • Function integration
  • Reduction in wage costs thanks to standalone processes
  • enables more efficient, faster production with less scrap. This reduces CO2 emissions.

Partner Case Study

FADO, established in 1984, is a tooling and injection moulding company based in Bydgoszcz, Poland. FADO is one of EOS official service providers for DMLS (direct metal laser sintering). The EOS Additive Manufacturing technology enables FADO the manufacturing of inserts equipped with conformal cooling channels, which can reduce cycle time by 30% on average, as well as improve the overall quality of injected parts.

Case Studies

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Injection Moulding

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