AddUp and WBA develop new AM platform for the tooling industry
October 25, 2022
AddUp, headquartered in Cébazat, France, has collaborated with the WBA Tooling Academy based in Aachen, Germany, to develop a new Additive Manufacturing platform for the tooling industry.
The WBA Aachener Werkzeugbau Akademie GmbH is a technical reference centre for the tooling industry which offers consulting, training, and research activities to promote technologies applicable to mould and tool production. In signing a partnership agreement with AddUp, the WBA has strengthened its offer and is now able to provide its customers with complete support for metal Additive Manufacturing projects.
Following an upcoming launch ceremony on October 25 and 26, 2022, the WBA’s new Additive Manufacturing platform will officially open its doors in early 2023. It will house a New Generation FormUp® 350 machine supplied by AddUp. This Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) machine concentrates all AddUp’s experience in terms of productivity, part quality, and operator safety. With the combined expertise of AddUp and the WBA, tool makers who submit application cases will be able to go beyond the simple proof of concept; they will be able to study all aspects of their projects, from the design applied to the PBF-LB, to the profitability analysis and the study of series production.
Additive Manufacturing is a key technology in the industry 4.0 concept and offers many interesting opportunities for the tooling industry. PBF-LB enables tools with a large number of mechanical properties to be produced more quickly than with conventional technologies. In addition, it is possible to design parts with more complicated geometries and to consider new business models based on customisation. This is achieved by additively manufacturing certain parts of the mould that are intended to be replaced frequently.
AddUp explains that one of the most significant use cases for PBF-LB in the tooling field is plastic injection moulds. Traditionally, injection moulding manufacturers must deal with certain constraints inherent to the manufacture of their moulds. The mould’s performance is directly related to its ability to cool the injected parts. PBF-LB is adapted to create complex cooling channels, positioned as close as possible to the mould walls. By adapting the shape of the channels to cool the surface of the part more homogeneously, manufacturers can see improved quality and experience higher productivity with a reduction in cooling and cycle times.
AddUp will be showcasing a FormUp 350 Additive Manufacturing machine at Formnext which takes place in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 15–18. The company will be located in Hall 12.0, stand E01.
