Erofio launches additively manufactured Mold 5G
Erofio, based in Batalha, Portugal, has launched Mold 5G, a two-component molding tool fully developed through topological optimisation and Additive Manufacturing. The mold’s weight and number of components are significantly reduced compared to the conventional mold, making it simpler to assemble, transport and operate. Modelling times are reportedly the same or even shorter than those of the conventional mold.
Despite the longer build time associated with Additive Manufacturing, the mold’s overall production time is reduced when compared to conventional molds thanks to the minimisation of machining time due to near-net-shape construction and the reduction in the number of components to be assembled.
The mold is optimised to the point of reducing the injection cycle time by 25%. The conventional mold that is currently in production has been tested and reportedly has a cycle time of 44s while the Mold 5G requires just 33s.
Using topology optimisation, the mold weight was reduced by 80%. This not only reduced the mold production cost but also optimised the temperature distribution.
The supports were developed using Topology Optimisation and Latticing Lightweighting on the same software that was used to optimise the mold.
The robot gripper, used to transport the parts once ejected from the mold, was also additively manufactured and optimised.
additive.erofio.pt
