Re: Rapid Tooling

From: Christian_Nelson@dtm-corp.com
Date: Tue Oct 06 1998 - 18:29:35 EEST


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From: "Easton, Craig George - EASCG001"
<EASCG001@students.unisa.edu.au>
To: "'rp-ml@ltk.hut.fi'" <rp-ml@ltk.hut.fi>
Subject: Rapid Tooling
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 11:37:03 +0930
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---------------------------------

    DTM offers two materials (Copper Polyamide and RapidSteel 2.0) for use
    in the SLS Sinterstation for creating injection molding tooling.
    Information about these materials is available on the DTM Web site. I
    recently finished writing a paper on the use of Copper Polyamide mold
    inserts for plastic injection molding. This paper was added to our web
    site this morning in pdf format
    (http://www.dtm-corp.com/Technology/material.htm). A similar paper for
    the RapidSteel 2.0 material is in progress. Below is a brief
    description for both materials.

    Copper Polyamide. In mid-1998, DTM introduced another metal/plastic
    material that can be used with the SLS process to create tooling for
    short runs of production equivalent plastic parts in materials such as
    polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), glass filled
    polypropylene, ABS, PC/ABS, and other common plastics.

    This material is Copper Polyamide (PA), a heat resistant, thermally
    conductive composite of copper and plastic. Runs of 100 to 400 plastic
    parts made with Copper PA molds are ideal for use in the product
    development stage where several hundred parts in the final material are
    needed for life testing or other design evaluation processes.

    The Copper PA material processes in the Sinterstation System in much
    the same way as the DuraForm PA material. Mold inserts are built
    directly from the geometry described in the STL file. What's more,
    features like runners, gates, conformal cooling lines, and ejector pin
    guides can be included in the STL file and built directly into the
    mold. Turnaround times for the production of a mold insert in the SLS
    system are as short as a day.

    Parts and molds made of the Copper PA composite are machinable and
    easily finished with wet sanding. Heat resistance and thermal
    conductivity are better than most plastic tooling materials. It is
    also possible to mold parts with cycle times that approach production
    rates.

    --------------

    RapidSteel. DTM introduced its first metal material, RapidSteel 1.0,
    in 1996. It was used for the creation of steel/copper mold inserts
    [1]. Mold inserts made of RapidSteel 1.0 are used to mold large
    quantities of plastic parts and to prototype quantities of pressure die
    cast parts. In 1998, DTM introduced RapidSteel 2.0, the next
    generation of this metal material. RapidSteel 2.0 offers improvements
    in processing time, finishing time, and accuracy compared to the
    original RapidSteel material.

    The mold insert produced in the Sinterstation is called the "green"
    insert. The stainless steel powder is held together by a binder that is
    activated during laser sintering. The unbound powder is carefully
    removed from the "green" insert and the insert is prepared for the
    first furnace cycle. During the first furnace cycle, the binder is
    removed and the steel powder sinters to form small necks (or bridges)
    between particles. The resulting part, which is 60% dense, is called a
    "brown" insert and is much more durable that the "green" insert. Some
    finishing work can be done on the "brown" insert, which is
    advantageous, because the material is easier to work with prior to
    bronze infiltration.

    The "brown" part is placed in a crucible and a measured amount of
    bronze is placed next to the part. The crucible is placed in the oven
    for the second furnace cycle. The bronze melts and wicks into the
    brown part by capillary forces forming the infiltrated part. The
    resulting mold inserts are fully dense and can be used to mold over
    100,000 plastic parts with most plastics.
     As new and better materials become available, market acceptance of
    rapid tooling continues to grow. What's more, designers realize the
    benefits of molding prototype parts with the actual production
    material. They are also seeing lowered costs, and reduced development
    cycles.

    ----------------

    The advantages of building mold inserts directly in the SLS process
    include complete ownership of the process, ability to add conformal
    cooling lines, and rapid creation of the mold inserts. The
    Sinterstation can also process plastic materials for the creation of
    functional prototypes. This allows you to test the geometry of the
    molded part prior to the completion of the tooling.

    Christian Nelson
    DTM Corporation

______________________________ Reply Separator ____________________________
_____
Subject: Rapid Tooling
Author: "Easton, Craig George - EASCG001" <EASCG001@students.unisa.edu.au>
 at
DTM
Date: 10/6/98 2:07 AM

    Help!?!?!?
    I am a final year student with the University of South Australia doing
    a project on Rapid Tooling for Injection Molding in conjunction with
    Gerard Industries, one of the largest molding firms in Australia.

    My problem is that it is relatively simple to obtain very general
    information regarding things such as Keltool and ACES etc., but
    getting
    anything substantial (other than a lovely glossy brochure) is proving
    impossible.

    My project is due in a little over a month and I need information
    quickly. I
    have not left this to the last minute, but I just stumbled
    onto this mailing list today (6th of October) by accident.

    My questions is can anyone provide me with any significant information
    or
    a place to get information on the following:
    -Keltool
    -ACES
    -Polysteel
    -RapidSteel
    or any other method worth mentioning.

    I have been trialling spray-metal tooling on my own, but have had
    little
    success to date.

    Please feel free to email me at eascg001@students.unisa.edu.au.

    Thankyou in advance
    Craig Easton

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