3D Printed Injection Moulding Tools

 Here at Plastic Parts 3D we have developed an exciting process of 3D printing mould inserts in a propriety material for conventional injection moulding.

If you can only use injection moulded parts for your project but you only need a small quantity, then this is a very economical route to take. Just send us your 3D file of the part(s) required and we’ll let you know if this form of production is suitable or whether you may need to consider our Rapid Aluminium Injection Mould Tool service.

What is 3D Printed Injection Mould Tooling

By utilising new materials developed for 3D printing and our on-site printing facility we have a process now of printing injection mould tool cavity inserts. These inserts are formed in the usual way of first producing a 3D model of the tool from the 3D model of the component then downloading to one of our printers for production of the inserts at a resolution of 50 microns.

The inserts are then assembled within our own steel and aluminium injection mould bases for mounting directly on to our injection moulding machines for conventional production of parts. This is very useful for when actual injection moulded parts are required for a small production quantity or for testing and trialling before committing to full injection mould tooling.

At this stage 3D Printed Injection Moulding Tooling only allows us to produce certain components due to the technology involved but the saving in time and expense over CNC machining is worth looking at.

Dependant on design and material, typical production quantities are anywhere between 10 and 500 injection moulded components. This technology is still in its infancy, but progress so far is very promising with future developments enabling more complex parts to be made – watch this space!