Title: Evaluation of 3D Printed Molds Made on Desktop 3D Printers

Authors: Haywood Y. Kwok, Daniel G. Gonzalez, Wout De Backer

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.22.0804

Abstract: With the advancement and increasing popularity of commercially available desktop 3D printers, 3D printed molds and tooling can be made in place of metal molds to reduce lead time and cost while achieving an acceptable surface quality and acceptable tolerances. 3D printed composite molds manufactured on consumer-grade equipment are inexpensive and can be printed within hours, which is ideal for prototyping tooling that may go through multiple design changes. The focus of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of 3D printed composite molds manufactured on desktop 3D printers with large nozzle diameters to improve throughput. A double curvature (hyperbolic paraboloid) mold was designed to mimic the complexity of typical metal composite molds. PLA filament was chosen as the material to print due to its accessibility and ease of processing. The 3D printed composite mold was evaluated based on its surface quality and tolerances of the print. The 3D printed composite tool is able to hold and withstand the forces generated by vacuum-bagging, and interacts well with existing composite manufacturing processes, included hand layup and vacuum injection resin transfer molding, which were the processes of interest for this research. Example parts were manufactured, and the processing parameters used are listed.

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Conference: SAMPE 2022

Publication Date: 2022/05/23

SKU: TP22-0000000804

Pages: 9

Price: $18.00