What is the service life of metal 3D printing molds?

1. Material Innovation: New Uses for High Strength Alloys
The qualities of the material are what determine how long a mold will last. Heat treatment and internal flaws limit the fatigue life of typical mold steels like H13 and S136. On the other hand, metal 3D printing specialty materials have made big performance improvements by changing their composition and procedures.
Ultra-high strength steel CX (Corrax) and 1.2709 (18Ni300) are used in industry: The tensile strengths of these two materials are 1700MPa and 2000MPa, while their yield strengths are more than 1600MPa. When it comes to injection molds, CX lasts just as long as S136 steel; when it comes to die-casting molds, 1.2709 lasts just as long as H13 steel. For instance, a company that makes electric vehicles employs 1.2709 material to make die-casting molds for battery pack shells. With topology optimization design, the mold's weight is cut by 40%, and its lifespan is almost 80,000 times longer, which is 40% longer than with standard methods.
A big step forward in the durability of high-temperature alloys: Optisys makes copper alloy nozzle molds for very harsh circumstances, such turbine discs for aircraft engines, using DMLS technology. It can handle impacts at temperatures up to 3000 °C and has a thermal conductivity of 380W/(m · K). Its lifespan is three times longer than that of typical forging methods.
Customized creation of specialty materials
Al250C aluminum alloy lasts over 5000 hours at a high temperature of 250 °C, which is 50 times longer than Scalmalloy aluminum alloy. It has been used a lot in aerospace structural components, where it has replaced some titanium alloy components to save money.
Shanghai Yisu Laser made ESU-H13 Mold Steel, a novel powder material. By improving the way carbides are spread out, the life of die-casting molds has gone from 30,000 times in traditional techniques to 60,000 times.
2. Process optimization: full chain control from design to molding
Not only do the qualities of the materials affect the life of the mold, but so does the complete process control from design to molding.
Innovative design of a conformal cooling water channel
Metal 3D printing's layered manufacturing features make it possible to create sophisticated conformal cooling channels inside the mold. This makes the mold's temperature more even, going from ± 15 ℃ to ± 3 ℃. For instance, Broadcom Precision made a die-casting mold for an engine cylinder body for a global car company. By optimizing the arrangement of the cooling water channel through simulation, the cycle time was cut by 35%, the product warpage rate dropped from 0.8% to 0.15%, the yield rate rose to 99.5%, and the mold life went over 100,000 times.
Grafting printing technology is now being used in a mature way.
Grafting printing technology connects the 3D printed element with the base to make big molds quickly and easily. Experience has shown that grafting printing and general printing don't make molds last any longer, although it costs 60% less. Huashu High Tech's automatic grafting function, for instance, has a placement accuracy of 0.05mm, which greatly speeds up production.
Enhancing the accuracy of multi-laser equipment
The Platinum BLT-S450 uses four laser synchronous scanning technology, which makes the molding process 300% more efficient. Dynamic powder spreading technology also keeps the surface roughness to Ra ≤ 6.3 μm, which cuts down on the amount of polishing work needed later and makes the mold last longer.
3. Post-processing technology: the best way to make sure of fatigue performance
The longevity of metal 3D printing molds is greatly affected by internal flaws such porosity and lack of fusion. Post-processing technique greatly increases the fatigue strength of molds by getting rid of flaws and making them more organized.
Fixing defects in hot isostatic pressing (HIP)
HIP technology gets the density of a material close to 100% by using high temperatures and high pressures to get rid of internal pores and microcracks. For instance, one aviation company used HIP-processed 3D printed turbine disk molds, which made them last 200% longer than untreated samples and 95% longer than typical forging procedures.
Correctly controlling the heat treatment process
Quenching and tempering: You can get the best balance of hardness and toughness in the mold by regulating the temperature of the heating and the rate of cooling. For instance, after being quenched and tempered, 1.2709 steel has a hardness of 50-52HRC and an impact toughness CVN of 7J, which is strong enough for die-casting molds.
tension relief annealing: This method can remove internal residual tension from large molds and stop them from cracking while they are being used. The molds produced by Huashu High Tech FS273M series equipment, for example, change shape by no more than 0.05mm after being treated with annealing.
Creative use of technology to make surfaces stronger
Shot peening strengthening: When high-speed bullets hit the surface of the mold, they create a layer of compressive stress that makes it stronger against fatigue. For instance, a specific forging die's life went from 20,000 cycles to 50,000 cycles following shot peening treatment.
Chemical hard chromium plating: Add a layer of hard chromium that is 0.02 to 0.05 mm thick to the mold's surface. This makes it three times more resistant to wear and tear and is good for high-wear situations.
4. An example of a common use: an industry demonstration of a breakthrough in lifespan
Automotive industry: Broadcom Precision's big step forward in die-casting molds
Broadcom Precision's 3D printing integrated die-casting mold insert lasts for more than 50,000 cycles, can withstand impacts of 22J, and has a 100% product yield rate. An worldwide car firm has used this mold to make battery pack shells. It cut the cost of each unit by 75% and cut the delivery time from 11 months to 2 months.
Aerospace: Molds for rocket engines for Relativity Space
Relativity Space makes 3D printed copper alloy nozzle molds with EOS M400 equipment. These molds fix the problem of copper alloys being too reflective by using green laser technology. The lifespan meets SpaceX's Starship project's requirement of one unit every week, and the cost of each launch goes down by 30%.
Xiaomi Technology's Precision Mold Optimization for Consumer Electronics
Xiaomi Technology and Yisu Laser are working together to make die-casting molds for mobile phone frames out of ESU-H13 material. The mold lasts 120,000 times longer than traditional methods because the AI system optimizes the structure of the cooling water channel. This allows Xiaomi to ship over 50 million units of the 14 series each year.
5. Trends and Problems in the Industry
Technology Fusion Trend AI+3D printing: Siemens NX software uses AI algorithms to automatically create the best cooling water channel layout. This cuts the design cycle from 72 hours to 8 hours.
Additive and Additive Composite: The LASERTEC 65 3D Hybrid equipment from DMG MORI combines "printing" and "milling" with a surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0.8 μ m.
Bottleneck for large-scale use
Cost of materials: 316L stainless steel powder still costs as much as $500 per kilogram, which is 5 to 8 times more than other forging materials.
Standard deficiency: The ISO/ASTM 52900 standard only covers 30% of mold applications, and the testing requirements for molds with complicated structures need to be updated right away.
Talent gap: The global mold industry needs 120,000 more 3D printing engineers, and it takes 3 to 5 years to train new composite talents.