, Which are meltd at high temporatures and cool upon enterence the mold.
Injecting molding of 50 to 100 parts, 3D Printing Can be a more count-effective option.
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Die casting is a process that is very similar to injection molding except that you swap out melted plastic for molten metal. The liquid metal is injected at high pressure into a metal die (the same as a mold in this case), which fills the die’s cavities and hardens to form a metal part. Die casting is usually used for large quantities of small- to medium-sized parts. You’ll find die casting used for such components as belt buckles and car engines.
3D printing dies has many of the same benefits as producing molds for injection molding with AM: fast turnaround and the ability to produce complex geometries. 3D printing can be much more cost-effective when the die will be used for small batch production.
Generally dies must be made from metal to survive the high heat and pressure of the die casting process, which isn’t necessarily true for some investment casting techniques. Companies that specialize in 3D printing dies and inserts (used to modify dies and molds) report having a hard time selecting the proper materials. Canadian company Exco Engineering has sometimes chosen maraging steel over H13 tool steel (which might more normally be used for traditional die-casting) due the high porosity and cracking with they’ve experienced 3D-printed molds made from H13. However, as we’ll discuss in a future post, there are technologies Molded case parts manufacturers that open up the possibility of using multiple metals to achieve certain results for 3D-printed dies.
In the subsequent articles of this series, we will look at some of the advantages of 3D printed molds and dies for injection molding and die casting, as well as some of the specific AM processes used and some specific applications.