Case study

3D printing of a positive mould

Project

Making a 3D model for a final casting mould for the body of a cover for an electric bike battery.

Why 3D printing

The use of the industrial 3D printer in the performance of project considerably accelerated work on the construction of an electric bike. 

Only several days were needed to print such a large model (540 x 220 x 100 mm)

External suppliers
3DGence 3D printer
Costs
585 EUR
67 EUR
Time
30 days
3 days
Material
Obomodulan
ABS

Goals

1. Freedom of geometry when designing a product

3D printing enables creation of complex geometry structures without increasing the costs of manufacturing – only few design limitations. The use of 3DGence INDUSTRY F340 enabled unit production, in the situation of lack of access to CNC machines.

2. Shortening of the project duration

The application of 3D printers enabled the creation of a positive mould in a shorter time compared with the conventional technologies. 3D printing enabled fast progress through the subsequent design iterations. The final version of the positive was made in only 3 days, which shortened the time from design to ready product by 27 days.

1. The two parts of the mould were printed and glued together
2. Model grinding and coating with two layers of sprayed surfacer.
The whole was ground wet to arrive at a smooth surface.
3. Two layers of acrylic primer and acrylic lacquer.
4. The mould was made from the printed positive.
5. Ribs were made for the purpose of stiffening the mould.
6. Electric bike battery cover

3. Costs reduction and material savings

In material removal processes material is removed by machining, grinding or drilling, which results in high material losses. A 3D printout was made of ABS, thanks to which the quantity of material used was minimised. The costs of the positive mould production were reduced by 92%.

INDUSTRY
F340

MODEL MATERIAL:
ABS

SUPPORT MATERIAL:
ESM-10

MODULE:
PRO

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