Injection mould for ASTM specification flexural modulus test bars and an injection moulded part madeusing polypropylene.
Avante Technology, LLC has announced the release of FilaOne GRAY Advanced Composite Injection Moulding Grade, 3D printing filament.
This carbon nanotube reinforced composite material is designed for printing injection moulding tools for short run production of common thermoplastic parts.
“Toolmakers can now print simple soft tooling in a day and start injection moulding parts the next day,” said Robert Zollo, President of Avante Technology. “If the part needs modification, you can print a revised mould and be moulding with the revised tooling within 24 hours.”
Tooling is quickly becoming one of the most sought after applications for additive manufacturing with many major companies such turning to AM solutions for lower costs and fast turn-around compared to traditional mould making.
FilaOne GRAY has been designed to work on specified low-cost desktop FDM printers and is able to withstand the extreme temperatures and pressures experienced in the injection moulding process across several cycles. Parts printed in the material can be polished or textured and the mould cavity surface can support use of off-the-shelf release agents.
Based on internal tests, Avante says the cost per cubic inch of printed injection moulds will be less than $2.50 per cubic inch ($0.15 per cubic cm), for most parts, making it considerably cheaper than traditional aluminium or steel mould. The example shown above is an injection mould for ASTM specification flexural modulus test bars and an injection moulded part made using polypropylene. The total material costs of the mould was around $25 which was designed and printed in approximately eight hours and used to make parts the following day.
“Our printed mould approach is ideal for moulding 10 to 1,000 parts at a cost that is 50% to 90% cheaper than conventional methods,” said Zollo. “Our composite materials are developed and produced here in the USA. Why spend more money for off-shore tooling and wait a month, when you can start injection moulding in days using our American made material?”
FilaOne GRAY is available as part of a 3D printing kit that includes a 0.5Kg reel of filament and a companion printing adhesion sheet. It is available in 1.75 and 2.88 mm diameter configurations, which contain sufficient material to print 90 to 150 cubic inches of tooling, depending print strategy. U.S. price for each kit is $299.00.
FilaOne GRAY Injection Moulding Grade filament will be available in November, in North America through the Avante Technology web store and in Europe through Avante’s Europe partner, PDO Europe GmbH.
