Three-dimensional-printed molds and materials for injection molding and rapid tooling applications
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Prospective Article
Three-dimensional-printed molds and materials for injection molding and rapid tooling applications John Ryan C. Dizon , Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory, Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture, Bataan Peninsula State University, City of Balanga, Bataan 2100, Philippines Arnaldo D. Valino, Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Adamson University, Manila City, Metro Manila 1000, Philippines Lucio R. Souza, Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Alejandro H. Espera Jr., Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Electronics Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Architecture, Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City 8016, Philippines; Department of Engineering Education, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24016, USA Qiyi Chen and Rigoberto C. Advincula, Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Address all correspondence to Rigoberto C. Advincula at [email protected] (Received 14 June 2019; accepted 23 October 2019)
Abstract This Prospective covers an overview of the injection molding process and the importance of mold design and tooling considerations, important material requirements and thermal properties for molds, polymer material requirements for injection molding, mold flow analysis, and the promise of using the 3D printing process for mold fabrication. The second part demonstrates the injection molding process using 3D-printed polymer molds and its suitability for low-run productions. 3D-printed molds using stereolithography and fused filament fabrication have been injected with polylactic acid, and the quality of the injected parts was assessed in terms of dimensional accuracy and the damage mechanisms during fabrication.
Introduction Conventional methods to produce original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts include formative manufacturing (FM) and subtractive manufacturing (SM). Examples of FM include injection molding, pressing, die casting, and stamping wherein high-quality parts can be produced at a very low cost and high throughput.[1] The downside of FM is the initial high cost as well as the lead time to produce the mold. In SM, wherein parts are produced by removing/subtracting material from larger pieces of material, the cost of the machine and the serial production method are also drawbacks. Examples include computer numerical control (CNC) machining, turning, milling, drilling, etc.[1,2] Although SM is a highly accurate production process, it is considered a wasteful process as it has a high “buy-to-fly ratio”. The buy-to-fly ratio is the ratio of the mass
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