Smart Cooling

Novel 3D printing process for the production of fast-cooling and stable plastic injection molds

Objective:
The project entitled "Smart Cooling" aims to use a novel 3D metal printing process for tool and mold making. The positive effects would result in a drastic reduction in cooling or cycle times and an extension of mold service life compared to conventionally manufactured molds. Unit costs in injection molding would also be reduced by up to 25%. The quality and dimensional accuracy of the injection molded parts also show an increase as a result of optimized temperature control in the mold. The process under consideration is known as filament metal printing (FMP) and is based on an innovative, two-stage manufacturing process for metal or ceramics. Compared to alternative additive manufacturing processes, FMP represents an extremely economical solution for the production of complex workpieces. Additionally, tool steels containing carbon, which are currently difficult to process, can be processed and multimodal tools can be manufactured. In this context, a multimodal tool is constructed from different alloys each with optimized local properties so that improved functionality can be achieved.

Funding program
"Central Innovation Program for SMEs" of
the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)
- Project form R&D cooperation projects FKZ: ZF4183005 W09

Participating industrial companies
_ IKO Isidor Kurz Werkzeug- und Formenbau GmbH & Co. KG
_ SimpaTec Simulation & Technology Consulting GmbH

Participating research institutions
_ Professorship of Photonic Technologies (LPT)
_ Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)