Metal additive manufacturing using selective laser sintering is being applied to injection moulds to create conformal cooling channels inside tool inserts. This allows intricate internal channels that improve cooling and part quality compared to traditional machining. Adoption has been gradual as mould makers prefer established technologies and outsource new technologies, but additive manufacturing is gaining acceptance. As technologies advance to print entire mould cavities, additive manufacturing use in the industry will continue growing.

1. EUROPEAN TOOL & MOULD MAKING
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Interview
Augustin Niavas, EOS
tooling manager 38
Vogel Business Media

2. / / / / / / / / /
/ C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A
/ / / / / / / / /
Metal additive manufacturing
to gain ground in die and mould
Systems that can 3D print metal parts with a selective laser sintering process are already
helping create advanced injection moulds. The technology is exf3ected to penetrate further
into the sector, according to EOS.
Germany's EOS is one of the world's
leading producers of Systems for ad-
ditive manufacturing w i t h metal. It is
working with a ränge of companies and
research organisations i n Europe and
beyond to advance the technology and
apply it to more applications. We dis-
cussed the current limits on the produc-
tion process and its future with Augustin
Niavas, the company's business develop-
ment manager for tooling.
ETMM: What does your Company offer to
the tool and die maker?
Augustin Niavas: W h e n we talk at EOS
about tooling, we talk about four applica-
tions. First is the manufacturing of i n -
y tili
serts with the integration of the confor-
mal cooling feature to improve the pro-
ductivity of the m o u l d and the plastic
quality of the produet. The second ap-
plication where we expect some business
this year is for the manufacturing of i n -
serts for die casting applications. Third
field of interest is the repair applications,
where our technology can give back the
complete functionality of the m o l d fo-
cusing only on the damaged area. A n d
the fourth application area is what we
have been offering for many years: rapid
prototyping and rapid tooling.
ETMM: Have you noticed any recent major
advancements in conformal cooling?
Tool insert and injection-rnoulding component:
Thanks to conformal cooling the time required
for cooling was reduced from 7 4 to just 8 sec-
onds for each cycle, and part quality improved.
Niavas: Today, the market is driven by the
parts or inserts manufactured by service
providers. If we have a look at the distri-
bution of the machines, 70-75% of Sys-
tems are sold to service companies,
w h i c h build up their business around
our Systems and they focus on insert de-
sign or optimisation and the Simulation
and improvement of the injection
moulding processes. [This] is the best
way to show end customers that this
technology works - with all the benefits
it can offer. A n d , they seil the inserts. I
call these companies 'tooling Solution
providers'. They are able to address the
challenges of the OEMs or the m o u l d
makers, analyse it, and w i t h dedicated
design, decide how to optimise it.
ETM M: What is your experience with shops ?
Niavas: Often times, the most challeng-
ing customers for us are the mould mak-
ers. It's a bit of a paradox. Once the tech-
nology is established as a production
technology - and is a reference technol-
ogy for tooling - then most of the ma-
chines will be f o u n d at m o u l d making
shops. Today, mould makers still prefer
to use an external service provider.
ETMM: What is stopping shops from pur-
chasingyour Systems?
Niavas: At a first glance, the amount of
the perceived costs. If you are, for exam-
ple, a mould maker, and you have to seil
a mould to an O E M i n a global context,
you can be sure you will be competing
w i t h m o u l d makers f r o m all over the
world, i n a pitch which is mostly price-
driven. Even if you are a very advanced
mould maker and able to deliver a Solu-
tion that performs but is more expensive,
you are negotiating w i t h a buyer w h o
obviously is not always interested i n the
cycle time or the produet quality but is
principally focusing on the mould cost.
Of course, Performances and quality are
38 European Tool & Mould Making | May 2014 | www.etmm-online.com

3. s " o
C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A
www-
A 3D view ofthe inner cooling Channels ofa
tool insert, which could not be manufactured
using conventional machining.
part of the deal, but price is still a key
decision factor. In the end, the confor-
mal cooling Solution is not always pro-
posed. W e need a change i n mindset:
once the conformal cooling Solution
makes its way into the OEM's specifica-
tion process, the acceptance of the tech-
nology will increase automatically. In
addition, we should not forget the short-
er amortisation period of the inserts and
the energy savings.
E T M M : That's during the biddingprocess.
But this changes later, right?
Niavas: What sometimes happens then,
for example i n the car industry, is that
the project needs further optimisation
loops to meet the requirements of cus-
tomers, w h i c h can require further re-
sources and result i n additionai delays.
These improvement cycles provide a real
chance to implement conformal cooling
solutions and business opportunities for
the tooling Solution providers. But with
this fragmentation of the market, at the
moment it is not that interesting for
mould makers to acquire the system as it
is still not fully perceived as a reference
technology for tooling. Our goal is to
change this perception by improving the
visibility of the EOS technology on the
customer side.
E T M M : What eise is holding shops back?
Niavas: Many m o u l d makers still associ-
ate risk with this technology. As a mould
maker, you only want products or solu-
tions that are well-known, that have
been on the market for a long time, are
established and for w h i c h historical and
Statistical data are available. Reliability
is key, too, since m o u l d makers need to
deliver a warranty o n the lifetime
moulds. Even if a shop has been familiär
with the technology for five years, it still
needs a longer learning curve to fully
master it. Basically, a mould maker needs
to go back to review and update an i m -
portant part of the know-how acquired
over the years to be able to tap into the
füll potential of additive manufacturing.
The freedom of design, for example, can
lead to higher productivity and insert
quality. You need to learn first h o w to
achieve the right design. So, to make life
easier, a m o u l d maker does not want to
purchase the equipment himself and
take control of the technology. Instead,
he often prefers to rely on external Serv-
ice, always with an eye on risk.
E T M M : Why use conformal inserts?
Niavas: W h e n you are making cooling
Channels with conventional methods -
drilling, using baffles, etc. - m u c h effort
is needed to find a good compromise for
the productivity of your tool. W i t h this
technology, if y o u decide to put the
Channel 3 m m away f r o m the cavity or
on top of a very long core (when structur-
ally acceptable), our system will print it!
It's no longer about looking for a com-
promise since you can make the design
you have been thinking about.
E T M M : When will shops aeeept the method?
Niavas: High quality parts and success
stories can convince people that this
A tool insert and the corresponding injection-
moulded component, which had a faster cycle
time and better housing quality.
Niavas said advancements in additive manu-
facturing will eventually allow it to be used for
making mould cavities.
method really works for tooling, that it
is not creating a risk for tool makers, but
that it can instead help to create a success
story. The challenge, as always, is that
when it works, people don't want to talk
about it. We need to be patient. It takes
time to roll out a new technology.
E T M M : What kind of market penetration do
you have in this sector?
Niavas: We are growing our business each
year. Today, only a small number of the
moulds built use this technology.
E T M M : Will additive technology eventually
be used for the cavity?
Niavas: There are some benefits, but
there are some challenges, too. The vol-
ume of material to be processed is higher,
you need a bigger industrial 3D printer
and more time to manufacture the part.
This will come, but we still need improve-
ments i n hardware and the process side.
E T M M : EOS has worked with metal additive
technology since 1999. Do you have an edge
over other companies currently planning to
enter the market?
Niavas: Yes. The big difference on the
metal side comes from mastering all the
g involved process parameters. You cannot
m reinvent yourself as a metal process spe-
s cialist i n a short period of time.
O
EOS,
Krailling, Germany.
eos.info
www.etmm-online.com | May 2014 | European Tool & Mould Making 39