Injection Mold for Plastics Manufactured by Metal-FFF with Conformal Cooling Channels: A Proof-of-Concept Case
Injection molding is widely used for mass-producing plastic components, demanding precise thermal control to optimize cycle times and part quality. Traditional CNC-machined molds limit design flexibility and restrict advanced cooling features like conformal cooling channels (CCCs). Integrating CCCs...
| Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia |
| Repository: | e-spacio. Repositorio Institucional de la UNED |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:e-spacio.uned.es:20.500.14468/31384 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/31384 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | 3310 Tecnología industrial Additive manufacturing Conformal cooling channels Metal FFF Injection molding Tooling |
| Summary: | Injection molding is widely used for mass-producing plastic components, demanding precise thermal control to optimize cycle times and part quality. Traditional CNC-machined molds limit design flexibility and restrict advanced cooling features like conformal cooling channels (CCCs). Integrating CCCs improves cooling performance, reduces cycle times, and offers more efficient, cost-effective designs. Additive manufacturing (AM), especially Metal-Fused Filament Fabrication (Metal-FFF), offers geometries unattainable by machining. While most mold research focuses on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), the feasibility of Metal-FFF molds remains underexplored. This study presents the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of an injection mold produced via Metal-FFF with integrated CCCs. The process included computational design, resistance simulations, fabrication, debinding, sintering, and post-processing, followed by testing under injection molding conditions. Results show that Metal-FFF molds with CCCs boost cooling efficiency, cutting cycle times by about 30% compared to conventional molds, while offering greater design freedom and economic benefits. Nonetheless, issues such as porosity and shrinkage need further refinement to fully leverage this technology for industrial use. |
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