Abstract:Time and expense are two main important issues that are needed to manufacture sheet metal forming dies in precision machinery industry. This study presents an alternative approach of producing sheet metal forming dies that is suitable for application in a new sheet metal component research and development phase. It was found that the sheet metal forming dies can be fabricated within 1 day. The advantages of the proposed method for fabricating sheet metal forming dies include low processing time and lower manuf… Show more
“…The tooling was tested using a hydraulic machine for forming of Al–Mg alloy sheets with a thickness of 0.6 mm. The tooling was proven to be effective experimentally and was found to be rigid enough to fulfill small batch production with good dimensional accuracies [ 22 ]. Schuh et al analyzed the suitability of 3D printed PLA tools for sheet metal.…”
The production of rapid tools for plastic molding, sheet metal forming, and blanking has always been a critical and important goal for applied research, and a very large number of alternative methods have been proposed over the decades for their production. Among these methods, the use of extrusion-based additive manufacturing (EAM), such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) or similar technologies, has not been frequently considered and needs to be explored extensively. EAM is generally considered a low-cost, low-quality, low-performance class of AM and not suited to produce real functional parts, but only for aesthetical prototypes. However, the capabilities of EAM technologies have greatly evolved and now it is possible to extrude a wide range of materials such as polymeric materials including both the low strength polymeric materials (such as nylon or PLA) and the high strength polymeric materials (such as PEI and PEEK), metals (such as tool steel), and even ceramics (such as zirconia). Starting from an extensive literature review, the purpose of the present paper is to further demonstrate the potential applicability and versatility of EAM as a rapid tool manufacturing technology for different applications in shearing, bending, deep drawing, and injection molding.
“…The tooling was tested using a hydraulic machine for forming of Al–Mg alloy sheets with a thickness of 0.6 mm. The tooling was proven to be effective experimentally and was found to be rigid enough to fulfill small batch production with good dimensional accuracies [ 22 ]. Schuh et al analyzed the suitability of 3D printed PLA tools for sheet metal.…”
The production of rapid tools for plastic molding, sheet metal forming, and blanking has always been a critical and important goal for applied research, and a very large number of alternative methods have been proposed over the decades for their production. Among these methods, the use of extrusion-based additive manufacturing (EAM), such as fused filament fabrication (FFF) or similar technologies, has not been frequently considered and needs to be explored extensively. EAM is generally considered a low-cost, low-quality, low-performance class of AM and not suited to produce real functional parts, but only for aesthetical prototypes. However, the capabilities of EAM technologies have greatly evolved and now it is possible to extrude a wide range of materials such as polymeric materials including both the low strength polymeric materials (such as nylon or PLA) and the high strength polymeric materials (such as PEI and PEEK), metals (such as tool steel), and even ceramics (such as zirconia). Starting from an extensive literature review, the purpose of the present paper is to further demonstrate the potential applicability and versatility of EAM as a rapid tool manufacturing technology for different applications in shearing, bending, deep drawing, and injection molding.
“…38 However, some disadvantages of these techniques include high investment in machinery, high operating costs and time-consuming processes. 39 In this context, Kuo and Li 40 proposed a rapid method for fabricating epoxy forming dies, as shown in Figure 4, to produce small batches of Al–Mg alloy sheet components. This study revealed that compared with the traditional method, the manufacturing cost of the mould was reduced by 87.2%.…”
Section: Recent Investigations Of Epoxy Toolingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In addition, the mould was made within 1 day.Figure 4.Schematic diagram of manufacturing sheet metal forming dies: (a) Designing the master model; (b) Manufacture of the master model; (c) Removal of prototype support materials; (d) Surface treatment of prototype by sandblasting; (e) Manufacture of the silicone rubber mould; (f) Manufacture of the sheet metal forming dies. 40 …”
Section: Recent Investigations Of Epoxy Toolingmentioning
The technology of epoxy tooling, at present under continuous development, is used for the rapid manufacture of cost-effective tools for small batch production. It is a valid alternative with no need for expensive investment in metallic moulds for the development of new products. Current investigations are focused on improvements to the production system, improved tool performance, the cost reduction of moulds and tool manufacturing sustainability. In this paper, both the advantages and the disadvantages of epoxy tooling in injection moulding, wax injection, metal stamping and hot embossing are compared with conventional techniques. Following a brief introduction of rapid tooling technologies, the latest advances of epoxy tooling and their implementation in different manufacturing processes are all analysed. These developments refer to the production of new ad-hoc epoxy composites, increased productivity using conformal cooling channels, the reduction of the tooling manufacturing costs through waste reuse and the emerging industry 4.0 technologies for smart manufacturing and tooling. The main objective is to identify both the challenges facing epoxy tooling techniques and future research directions.
“…Examples of indirect RT methods are silicone rubber tooling, spray metal tooling and epoxy resin tooling. Epoxy resin punch and dies constructed through indirect rapid tooling technique reduce the cost involved in forming Al-Mg alloy sheets up to 87 per cent (Kuo and Li, 2016). Kuo (2018) fabricated wax filament through indirect tooling technique and manufactured wax conformal cooling channel using FDM.…”
Purpose
Fabrication of customized products in low volume through conventional manufacturing incurs a high cost, longer processing time and huge material waste. Hence, the concept of additive manufacturing (AM) comes into existence and fused deposition modelling (FDM), is at the forefront of researches related to polymer-based additive manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research works carried on the applications of FDM.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present paper, an extensive review has been performed related to major application areas (such as a sensor, shielding, scaffolding, drug delivery devices, microfluidic devices, rapid tooling, four-dimensional printing, automotive and aerospace, prosthetics and orthosis, fashion and architecture) where FDM has been tested. Finally, a roadmap for future research work in the FDM application has been discussed. As an example for future research scope, a case study on the usage of FDM printed ABS-carbon black composite for solvent sensing is demonstrated.
Findings
The printability of composite filament through FDM enhanced its application range. Sensors developed using FDM incurs a low cost and produces a result comparable to those conventional techniques. EMI shielding manufactured by FDM is light and non-oxidative. Biodegradable and biocompatible scaffolds of complex shapes are possible to manufacture by FDM. Further, FDM enables the fabrication of on-demand and customized prosthetics and orthosis. Tooling time and cost involved in the manufacturing of low volume customized products are reduced by FDM based rapid tooling technique. Results of the solvent sensing case study indicate that three-dimensional printed conductive polymer composites can sense different solvents. The sensors with a lower thickness (0.6 mm) exhibit better sensitivity.
Originality/value
This paper outlines the capabilities of FDM and provides information to the user about the different applications possible with FDM.
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