Since the early development of industrial injection molding, how to keep a constant temperature on the surface of the mold has been troubling people. In injection molding, the cooling time of the finished product accounts for up to 72% of the injection production cycle.

The main reason is that in traditional mold manufacturing, temperature control or cooling water can only be drilled in a straight line. Critical hot spots are usually outside the range of cooling heat propagation and therefore cannot be cooled effectively.

In order to keep the temperature constant, manufacturers have used separators, radiators, heat pipes, etc.; Attempts were also made to layer the blocks together and to install intricate drilling devices in the mold. How to do it quickly and cheaply is another challenge.

In 1998, the concept of “cooling technology of injection mold with shape” was proposed for the first time. It is considered that the best solution to control the temperature of injection mold is to design the cooling channel consistent with the contour of the component. However, it increases the design difficulty and manufacturing complexity of mold manufacturing, which makes most traditional manufacturers afraid of it.

As a representative manufacturing technology of intelligent manufacturing, 3D printing technology has been widely used in our manufacturing industry in recent years. Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology can be used to integrate the optimized shape cooling waterway into the mold in the production process. Ensuring faster and more uniform heat dissipation reduces thermal stress in the die and extends its life of the die.

The quality of plastic products and the dimensional accuracy of parts are also improved, and the warping deformation is reduced. In addition, the advantages of 3D printing technology in forming complex structures get rid of the forming restrictions of traditional machining, so that the shape of the complex structure cooling channel (shape channel), from design to reality. The process can also greatly shorten the production cycle of injection mold.

The use of laser sintering for electronic manufacturing has become a viable solution in many different industries. It is important to emphasize that this technology is feasible not only in a rapid prototyping environment but also in a range of complex products. For example, innovative laser technology makes models and ADAPTS parts or entire process chains to fit customers’ operational processes.

Using the DMLS process to optimize the heat dissipation of die inserts, the cycle time was reduced by 56% – from 92 seconds to 42 seconds, equivalent to an annual productivity increase of 123%. The investment of €3,260 paid off within two months and the company could save almost €20,000 a year by using the additive technology.

3D printing company’s laser selective sintering/melting printed parts are distributed under the shape of the cooling channel, which improves the efficiency and uniformity of cooling. In most parts of the lightweight design, the overall weight reduction of 25%, saves raw materials, shortens the production cycle, and reduces production costs.

Additive manufacturing process equipment of Shanghai Yunyan Prototype & Mould Manufacture Factory has reached the international advanced level. In addition, you will see more lightweight cooling mold solutions and metal 3D printing application cases. From design, material to process, we will fully explore the application of 3D printing with shape to witness more possibilities of additive manufacturing.