"3D printing is a great way to take advantage of being able to conformally cool a core/cavity, but it is not always cost-efficient for an entire mold," Badami explained. "Usually what happens is a prospect wants the entire mold 3D printed, but we talk them down to just 3D printing the [conformal cooling] inserts so that they can chase the hot spots in the mold."

March 12, 2024 10:35 ET | Source: Straits Research Private Limited - Reed Intelligence Straits Research Private Limited - Reed Intelligence

ABS is used to make the cores and cavities, and the most common materials used for injection molding parts are PP, PE, PS, TPEs, POM, ABS, and PA and other materials with similar processing parameters. Sella also noted that the typical number of shots from a 3D printed mold depends mainly on the geometry of the part and the material being injected.

Using Stratasys 3D printing technology, Sueffer also produces 3D printed molds for its hot melt process. These molds, which are used to overmold low melting point polyamide over electronic circuit boards, are created with Stratasys' rigid, opaque Vero materials.

With the additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing process, there's almost nothing that can't be printed from human ears to end-use aircraft components thanks to an ever increasing range of materials, both polymers and metals. So what's been holding back the 3D printing of molds cores and cavities?

Utilizing injection molding machinery permits the actual mass production of injection-molded plastic components. The injection molding machine is the most effective and energy-efficient way of mass-producing plastic products. The rise of the global injection molding machines market is propelled by the multiple qualities of injection molding machines, such as their durability, user-friendliness, higher manufacturing rates and rapid production, and high quality. Rapidly increasing industrial investment and robust demand for injection-molded polymers in the automotive and healthcare industries are driving the expansion of the global injection molding machine market. In addition, industry leaders' manufacturing of energy-efficient, fully automated injection molding equipment stimulates the expansion of the injection molding market. Market participants provide injection molding machines in numerous sizes and designs to meet customers' needs.

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), a process developed by EOS GmbH, uses powdered metal for its 3D metal printing systems. With metal materials improving and evolving to the point that companies like Linear Mold & Engineering in Livonia, MI, can made actual end-use parts for customers in the aerospace industry, DMLS and a similar technology - Selected Laser Melting - would seem to be a natural for building cores and cavities for injection molds.

A vital characteristic of the injection-molding process is its capacity to use many types of plastic to make plastic things simultaneously. Manufacturers may use thermoplastics, thermosetting, or a combination of elastomers in injection molding to get the needed properties. This technique allows for producing more complicated objects with various forms and motifs. In addition, once the mold is prepared, the manufacturer can adjust the component's material and color. This factor is projected to drive the global market for injection molding machines. In addition, injection molding helps to reduce manufacturing waste. The majority of polymers produced by injection molding are recyclable.

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With 3D printing becoming more and more a major part of new-product development, mold development can't be far behind as mold manufacturers seek to provide more up-front support to their OEM customers. Nadav Sella, Stratasys Solution Manager, told PlasticsToday from the K Show, "We are definitely seeing an increasing demand and interest from companies to use 3D printed molds to cut time and cost whenever possible. It also means that they make fewer changes to the production tool. There is a lot of interest here at the K Show."

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Increasing production rates and rapid injection molding output are predicted to boost global injection molding machines market growth. In addition, injection molding allows for producing plastic components with various finishes, including light texture, medium texture, pad printed, smooth, and screen printed. Consequently, it is projected that cheap labor costs and mass manufacturing associated with injection molding machines will promote market growth.

"Working with the automotive industry, sample parts need to be tested in the environment of moving mechanical parts as well as in high temperature environments," explained Andreas Buchholz, Head of R&D at Seuffer. "With Stratasys 3D printing, we can design first drafts of the injection mold within a few days and 3D print them in less than 24 hours for part evaluation. Traditionally, it would take eight weeks to manufacture the tool in metal using the conventional CNC process. And while the conventional tool costs us about 40,000 euros, the 3D printed tool is less than 1000 euros, a saving of 97%."

Advantage of Low Labour Cost and Mass Production Along with Material Flexibility and Low Production Waste to Drive the Global Injection Moulding Machines Market

Badami noted that Linear has done a few projects that have had smaller cores/cavities 3D printed, including one for plastic material that was hand-injected, and another core/cavity set for a small injection mold.

Until she retired in September 2021, Clare Goldsberry reported on the plastics industry for more than 30 years. In addition to the 10,000+ articles she has written, by her own estimation, she is the author of several books, including The Business of Injection Molding: How to succeed as a custom molder and Purchasing Injection Molds: A buyers guide. Goldsberry is a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. She reflected on her long career in "Time to Say Good-Bye."

Asia-Pacific's injection molding machines market share will grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period. Due to the region's expanding demand for injection-molded plastics, it is projected that China, India, and Indonesia will contribute to expanding the Asia-Pacific injection molding machine market. This is due to the expansion of the packaging industry. In addition, significant companies such as NISSEI Plastic Industrial Co. Ltd. and Japan Steel Works Ltd. are employing various strategies, such as cooperation, acquisition, and others, to accelerate the expansion of the market.

The most common material used that provides optimum tool life is ABS, which is also easiest to finish and bond. Polycarbonate is preferred for low-volume manufacturing, because it has a higher heat deflection temperature (HDT) and the sheet material doesn't stick to a warm tool. Ultem is the preferred material for a tool that will form thicker gauge material, and it also has the highest mechanical properties and the best HDT, Winkler noted. Tool life for an FDM tool is typically 500-1000 cycles without wear, which means it's best suited for prototype and low volume manufacturing.

Rob Winkler, supervisor for FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) applications for Stratasys, provided an interesting technical presentation at the SPE Thermoforming Conference in September. "Thermoforming is possible using an FDM-built tool with pressures up to 10,000 psi and for most sheet thicknesses," Winkler said. "FDM tooling success is dependent on forming pressures and those are dependent on the type of sheet being formed, the thickness, and the bend radii, draft and draw depth.

Europe will hold the second largest market share and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% during the forecast period. Due to their high quality and energy efficiency, there has been a surge in the usage of all-electric injection molding machines in Europe. In addition, major market participants are spending considerable effort to deliver injection molding machines that fulfill the requirements of their clients by supplying customized and machine-type-based machines. Europe's economic expansion has led to a larger consumer market, indirectly benefiting the injection-molded plastics industry. In addition, the growth of the packaging, automotive, and electrical appliance industries is expected to increase the need for injection-molded plastics, boosting the market for injection molding equipment in Europe.

Andy Middleton, general manager of Stratasys EMEA at Stratasys, added, "Companies worldwide are looking to introduce significant efficiencies to their manufacturing processes when introducing new products, and are discovering the many benefits of additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. More and more manufacturers are adopting 3D printed tools as a complimentary injection molding solution - not only to cost effectively test products before mass production, but also to produce customized parts."

Winkler also stated that FDM tooling's benefit is not labor savings but rather "it's for process improvements for low-volume manufacturing to reduce or remove product design and/or tooling manufacturing time from the critical path. It allows for multiple iterations to improve the final product."

"I do get a lot of interest in DMLS cores and cavities," she told PlasticsToday. "Unfortunately, a lot of them are 'undoable' because of the size constraints of the machines, or the cost is too high for the bigger cores and cavities. It's no cost-efficient to 3D print large blocks (cores/cavities), versus smaller inserts like we do with our DMLS conformal cooling lines."

Badami commented that the mold core/cavity demand might increase, as the build beds get larger. Linear's SLM system has a larger build bed, 280mm x 280mm x 350mm, and a higher laser power, 400/1000 Watts fiber laser. "Once the machines allow for larger build envelopes, I anticipate companies wanting to take advantage of the ability to lift the design limitations with water lines and start 3D printing entire molds."

Primarily, cores and cavities for the injection molding process need to hold up under the heats and pressures of that environment. Additionally, the surface finish of 3D printed cores and cavities typically is not suitable for the parts and requires some finishing work. So, for years prototype parts have been built using the various 3D processes to evaluate the geometry, look and feel prior to a one- or two-cavity pilot mold being built in which to run actual pre-production parts.

With five EOSINT machines and one Selected Laser Melting system from SLM Solutions GmbH, Linear is able to meet demand for end-use parts from its customers. However, when it comes to demand for cores and cavities for injection molds, it's just not there yet, according to Linear's Manager for DMLS, Brandy Badami.

New York, United States, March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Injection molding is a mechanism that allows for the mass production of components. It operates by injecting molten materials into a mold. It is typically employed in mass production to manufacture thousands of similar things. Components produced by injection molding include metals, glassware, elastomers, and confections. Although thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers are the most common, other polymers exist. The real benefit of injection molding is its mass manufacturing capability. After initial costs are accounted for, the unit cost of injection-molded items is extraordinarily cheap. The ingredients, such as synthetic resins (plastics), are heated and melted before they are put into the mold and cooled to form the desired shape. This process is referred to as injection molding because it resembles the injection of fluids using a syringe. Materials are melted and poured into the mold, where they solidify before being removed and completed.

That is changing however, with an announcement from Stratasys Ltd. with headquarters in Minneapolis, MN, and Rehovot, Israel, that Robert Seuffer, GmbH & Co. KG (Seuffer), a German supplier of parts for household appliances and commercial vehicles, is using Stratasys 3D printing to manufacture cores and cavities to produce injection molded sample parts.

According to Straits Research, “The global injection molding machines market size had a market share of USD 10,724 million in 2021, expected to advance to USD 16,964 million with a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period.” Injection molding is an automated process in which an automatic tool operates efficiently on an injection molding machine. Machines and robots perform the majority of injection molding. These persons are solely accountable for overseeing and managing the process. This automation reduces the labor costs of the process. This drop in labor expenditure is predicted to reduce the cost of manufacturing plastic components. In addition, injection molding can make many identical components every hour.

This may be a game-changer for mold manufacturers, whose customers typically require prototype parts to evaluate part design for performance and fit before making the production mold. Even the fastest machined cores and cavities for a "pilot" mold can take up to two weeks to make. That means the ability to dramatically streamline the tool creation process for producing these prototype parts is another concrete example of how Stratasys 3D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing.

With the additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing process, there's almost nothing that can't be printed from human ears to end-use aircraft components thanks to an ever increasing range of materials, both polymers and metals. So what's been holding back the 3D printing of molds cores and cavities?