Additive Manufacturing proves faster and cheaper for foaming tools made of aluminium
Siegfried Hofmann GmbH, based in Litchenfels, Germany, in cooperation with Grob-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, a manufacturer of engineering and automation systems based in Mindelheim, Germany, has developed an additively manufactured solution for producing aluminium particle foam molds.
The new generation of additively manufactured particle foam molds are said to be lighter than their stainless-steel counterparts, corrosion-resistant and allow for optimum vapour deposition, venting and homogenous filling. Using Additive Manufacturing rather than traditional manufacturing has also meant that production is faster and more flexible.
“We are particularly proud of the rapid production of the additively manufactured aluminium foam molds,” says Stefan Hofmann, Managing Director of Siegfried Hofmann. “We only needed a third of the time to produce our demonstrator tool compared to its 3D printed steel counterpart.”
Depending on the complexity of the resultant component, designs can be developed and put into production in only a week using Grob’s Liquid Metal Printing (LMP) process to produce the mold. Grob-Werke’s LMP process is believed to fall broadly into the ISO/ASTM 52900:2015 category of Material Jetting.
Hofmann has stated that the molds are ideal for series parts with basic surface quality requirements, they are also a good solution for short-term prototype testing of materials, spraying and evaporation. Different mold inserts for one product can be produced with one mold frame, thus potentially saving costs and speeding up the production process.
