AddiFab 3D-printer builds mold tooling

The Toolmaker 3D printer allows moldmakers to produce tooling more quickly and cheaply than they could by conventional methods. The system was developed by the Danish company AddiFab and is based on its proprietary Freeform Injection Molding (FIM) technology.

During the process, the Toolmaker prints the tool. Next, parts are injection-molded and demolded—the key element of the process. Tooling is printed from soluble material. So instead of having to eject a part from the tool, as is done with conventional demolding, each tool dissolves and releases the injection-molded part. The FIM demolding process resembles a melting ice cube.

FIM tools can be used with any molding machine at an injection pressure up to 2,500 bar and a maximum melt temperature of 450 degrees C. The molding tools are compatible with all conventional feedstock materials, including composites, thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, silicones, ceramics, and metals, and in shot sizes from 0.1 to 100 g.

The DLP (digital light processing)-style printer offers resolution down to 10 µm and meets general mold-part tolerances of 10 to 50 µm.