Users mainly evaluate the mold manufacturer through the mold price, but usually do not consider the value provided by the mold for the molder, which is still one of the major challenges in mold manufacturing today. Although price and value are two different things, it is always difficult for human beings to control the irrational first impression to establish a direct one-to-one relationship between price and value.
Manufacturing conformal cooling molds through 3D printing makes the value of molds more difficult to evaluate. Because the conformal cooling mold changes the injection cycle and can effectively avoid the warping deformation in the injection process, how to accurately evaluate the total cost of ownership of the mold in the entire injection life cycle has become a challenging task. In the manufacturing process of molds, 3D science Valley found that 3D printing also brings values that are usually easy to be ignored, including saving materials, reducing tool wear during later machining, and reducing the occupation cost of machine tools.
The 3D printed conformal cooling die inserts do not need rough machining, which reduces the cutting time, reduces the consumption of tools and coolant, and improves the utilization of the machine tool. At the same time, for the later EDM processing, the 3D printing conformal cooling mold also eliminates the need for opening holes. DEM start holes can be built in the 3D printing process, which reduces the steps, reduces the finishing cost, and shortens the delivery cycle.
Of course, the intuitive value of 3D printing is to manufacture mold inserts. Conformal cooling is an ideal choice for manufacturing complex contour products. Conformal cooling is more effective for providing consistent mold temperature distribution on the molded surface. Other aspects that need to be considered are proper cooling or hot runner descent at the gate to maintain proper control and thermal stability.
