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Mantle
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Mantle
Metal 3D printing firm Mantle has announced it is working with Westminster Tool, Wepco Plastics and Precision Laser Technology (PLT) to develop additively manufactured tooling components.
Each of the collaborations is leaning on Mantle’s H13 Flowable Metal Paste material and will be featured by Mantle at the upcoming PTXPO and AMUG events.
Working with Westminster Tool, Mantle has exhibited its TrueShape technology’s capacity to print conformal cooling channels that help to control mould temperatures. The tooling inserts in this partnership were developed to mould medical forceps sample parts in a highly glass-filled, bio-based PA 11 called Rilsan FKZM 65 O TD MED from Arkema. Printed with Mantle’s H13 steel material, the tooling inserts were produced within 86 hours, allowed Westminster to add a subgate so they could mould thousands of parts without the risk of gate erosion, and featured integrated cooling channels which were integral for the use of the PA 11 material.
“These [conformal cooling channels] are more effective at controlling the cavity temperature, which is critical to moulding this particular material,” commented Westminster Tool Manufacturing Engineer Eddie Graff. “In the end, it took us three weeks to go from design to FOT, quality medical parts on a prototype tool. It’s incredible.”
Through its partnership with Wepco Plastics, Mantle’s TrueShape technology facilitated the manufacture of mould inserts which again featured conformal cooling channels, but also exhibited a matte surface finish with a 1-3 μm Ra surface roughness. The inserts, which are being used to mould a cell phone stand, were printed within 80 hours.
Meanwhile, the company’s work with Precision Laser Technology has sought to verify that Mantle’s H13 tool steel material could withstand welding and/or machining processes. For this study, Mantle printed four H13 test bars, with PLT then working with Craftsman Manufacturing to precision mill and grind the parts. Craftsman Manufacturing used CNC machining to add a notch and ground to three of the four sides, with PLT welding the notch to simulate adding material for an engineering change or building up a worn parting line in a mould. The material accepted the filler wire readily and Craftsman Manufacturing post-ground thew bar again, with the results said to be indistinguishable from traditional H13 steel.
“We wanted to replicate a real-world environment for mould components, one we see as a service provider in the industry,” commented PLT’s Ron Natale. “This would enable us to test how Mantle’s inserts held up to engineering changes on worn parting lines that require welding. We also wanted to test how easy it would be to machine the insert to tighten up tolerances. It was a seamless experience, and didn’t disrupt any of the processes in our shop. There were no requirements for special tooling or alterations to the process because of the material. Performance was consistent with conventional H13.”
