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European Tool & Mould Making Magazine - EOS DMLS tooling case study - Additive 3D Printing
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EUROPEAN TOOL & MOULD MAKING
The trade magazine for tool, mould & die making
Volume XVI | Issue 5 | May 2014 | ISSN 2194-7589 [ €11 www.etmm-online.com
manner SIDEGATE
C O C / C O P - Side Injection with
Valve Gating
Additive Manufacturing
Industry News Industrial machinery sales to remain strong
Special Report New major German fair
6 for die and mould W »
Interview Augustin Niavas, EOS tooling manager 38
V o g e l Bus iness Med ia
/ / / / / / / / /
/ C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A / / / / / / / / /
Metal additive manufacturing to gain ground in die and mould Systems that can 3D print metal parts with a selective laser sintering process are already helping create advanced injection moulds. The technology is exf3ected to penetrate further into the sector, according to EOS.
Germany's EOS is one of the world's
leading producers of Systems for ad
dit ive manufac tu r ing w i t h metal . It is
work ing w i t h a r änge of companies and
research organisations i n Europe and
beyond to advance the technology and
apply i t to more appl icat ions. W e dis
cussed the current l imits o n the produc
t ion process and its future w i t h Augustin
Niavas, the company's business develop
ment manager for tool ing.
E T M M : What does your Company offer to
the tool and die maker?
Augustin Niavas: W h e n we talk at EOS
about tooling, we talk about four applica
t ions. First is the manufac tu r ing of i n -
y tili
serts w i t h the integration of the confor-
m a l coo l ing feature to improve the pro
duct iv i ty of the m o u l d and the plastic
qual i ty of the produet. The second ap
pl icat ion where we expect some business
this year is for the manufac tur ing of i n -
serts for die casting applications. T h i r d
f ie ld of interest is the repair applications,
where our technology can give back the
complete func t iona l i ty of the m o l d fo-
cusing on ly o n the damaged area. A n d
the f o u r t h appl ica t ion area is what we
have been offer ing for many years: rapid
prototyping and rapid tool ing .
E T M M : Have you noticed any recent major
advancements in conformal cooling?
Tool insert and injection-rnoulding component:
Thanks to conformal cooling the time required
for cooling was reduced from 7 4 to just 8 sec-
onds for each cycle, and part quality improved.
Niavas: Today, the market is driven by the
parts or inserts manufactured by service
providers. If we have a look at the distri
bu t ion of the machines, 70-75% of Sys
tems are sold to service companies ,
w h i c h b u i l d up their business a round
our Systems and they focus on insert de
sign or opt imisat ion and the Simulat ion
a n d improvement of the i n j e c t i o n
m o u l d i n g processes. [This] is the best
way to show e n d customers that this
technology works - w i t h all the benefits
it can offer. A n d , they seil the inserts. I
cal l these companies ' t oo l ing Solut ion
providers'. They are able to address the
challenges of the O E M s or the m o u l d
makers, analyse it, and w i t h dedicated
design, decide how to optimise it.
ETM M: What is your experience with shops ?
Niavas: O f t e n times, the most challeng-
ing customers for us are the m o u l d mak
ers. It's a bit of a paradox. Once the tech
no logy is established as a p r o d u c t i o n
technology - and is a reference technol
ogy for too l ing - t hen most of the ma
chines w i l l be f o u n d at m o u l d m a k i n g
shops. Today, m o u l d makers still prefer
to use an external service provider.
E T M M : What is stopping shops from pur-
chasingyour Systems?
Niavas: At a first glance, the amount of
the perceived costs. If you are, for exam
ple, a m o u l d maker, and y o u have to seil
a m o u l d to an O E M i n a global context,
y o u can be sure y o u w i l l be compet ing
w i t h m o u l d makers f r o m a l l over the
world , i n a p i t ch w h i c h is mostly price-
driven. Even if y o u are a very advanced
m o u l d maker and able to deliver a Solu
t ion that performs but is more expensive,
y o u are negot ia t ing w i t h a buyer w h o
obviously is not always interested i n the
cycle t ime or the produet quali ty but is
pr incipal ly focusing o n the m o u l d cost.
Of course, Performances and quali ty are
38 European Tool & Mould Making | May 2014 | www.etmm-onl ine.com
\ s \ \ \ \ \ \ " o C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A
www-
A 3D view ofthe inner cooling Channels ofa
tool insert, which could not be manufactured
using conventional machining.
part of the deal, but price is s t i l l a key
decision factor. In the end, the confor
m a l cooling Solution is not always pro-
posed. W e need a change i n mindset :
once the c o n f o r m a l c o o l i n g Solut ion
makes its way in to the O E M ' s specifica
t i on process, the acceptance of the tech
n o l o g y w i l l increase automatical ly. In
addit ion, we should not forget the short-
er amortisation period of the inserts and
the energy savings.
E T M M : That's during the biddingprocess.
But this changes later, right?
Niavas: W h a t sometimes happens then,
for example i n the car industry, is that
the project needs fur ther op t imisa t ion
loops to meet the requirements of cus
tomers, w h i c h can require fur ther re-
sources and result i n addi t ionai delays.
These improvement cycles provide a real
chance to implement conformal cool ing
solutions and business opportunities for
the too l ing Solution providers. But w i t h
this f ragmentat ion of the market, at the
m o m e n t i t is no t that interest ing for
m o u l d makers to acquire the system as it
is stil l not fu l ly perceived as a reference
t echno logy for too l ing . O u r goal is to
change this perception by improving the
vis ibi l i ty of the EOS technology o n the
customer side.
E T M M : What eise is holding shops back?
Niavas: M a n y m o u l d makers st i l l associ
ate risk w i t h this technology. As a m o u l d
maker, you on ly want products or solu
tions that are w e l l - k n o w n , that have
been o n the market for a long t ime, are
established and for w h i c h historical and
Statistical data are available. Reliabi l i ty
is key, too, since m o u l d makers need to
deliver a warranty o n the l i fe t ime
moulds . Even i f a shop has been fami l i ä r
w i t h the technology for five years, it st i l l
needs a longer learning curve to f u l l y
master it. Basically, a m o u l d maker needs
to go back to review and update an i m
portant part of the know-how acquired
over the years to be able to tap into the
fül l potential of additive manufacturing.
The freedom of design, for example, can
lead to h igher p roduc t iv i t y and insert
quality. Y o u need to learn first h o w to
achieve the right design. So, to make life
easier, a m o u l d maker does not want to
purchase the equ ipment h imse l f a n d
take control of the technology. Instead,
he of ten prefers to rely on external Serv
ice, always w i t h an eye on risk.
E T M M : Why use conformal inserts?
Niavas: W h e n y o u are m a k i n g c o o l i n g
Channels w i t h convent ional methods -
dr i l l ing , us ing baffles, etc. - m u c h effort
is needed to f i n d a good compromise for
the product ivi ty of your tool. W i t h this
technology, i f y o u decide to put the
Channel 3 m m away f r o m the cavity or
on top of a very long core (when structur-
ally acceptable), our system w i l l pr int it!
It's no longer about l ook ing for a com
promise since y o u can make the design
you have been t h i n k i n g about.
E T M M : When will shops aeeept the method?
Niavas: H i g h qual i ty parts a n d success
stories can conv ince people that this
A tool insert and the corresponding injection-
moulded component, which had a faster cycle
time and better housing quality.
Niavas said advancements in additive manu
facturing will eventually allow it to be used for
making mould cavities.
method really works for tool ing, that it
is not creating a risk for tool makers, but
that it can instead help to create a success
story. The challenge, as always, is that
w h e n it works, people don' t want to talk
about it. We need to be patient. It takes
t ime to ro l l out a new technology.
E T M M : What kind of market penetration do
you have in this sector?
Niavas: We are growing our business each
year. Today, on ly a small number of the
moulds bui l t use this technology.
E T M M : Will additive technology eventually
be used for the cavity?
Niavas: There are some benefits , but
there are some challenges, too. The v o l
ume of material to be processed is higher,
you need a bigger industr ial 3D printer
and more t ime to manufacture the part.
This w i l l come, but we still need improve
ments i n hardware and the process side.
E T M M : EOS has worked with metal additive
technology since 1999. Do you have an edge
over other companies currently planning to
enter the market?
Niavas: Yes. The b i g difference o n the
metal side comes f r o m mastering all the
g involved process parameters. You cannot
m reinvent yourself as a metal process spe-
s cialist i n a short per iod of t ime. O
EOS,
Krailling, Germany.
eos.info
www.etmm-onl ine.com | May 2014 | European Tool & Mould Making 39