Q: What unique advantages does laser metal 3D printing for molds have in the field of injection molding system processing?

A: Injection molds are an important branch of mold manufacturing, and the design and manufacturing of their cooling systems are crucial, directly affecting the quality and production efficiency of plastic parts. Traditional processing technology can only drill straight waterway holes for waterways, which are difficult to fully conform to the surface of injection-molded parts. This easily leads to problems such as long injection cycles, uneven product cooling, and significant product deformation during injection molding. The introduction of metal 3D printing technology breaks through this limitation, enabling the manufacture of conformal waterways whose cooling channel shapes change according to the contour of the product. Meanwhile, exhaust inserts produced by laser metal 3D printing for molds can further optimize the exhaust system, enhancing the quality and production efficiency of injection-molded products.

Q: How is the injection molding system mainly classified, and what are the applications of each category?

A: The injection molding system can be classified into hot runner molds and cold runner molds according to the cooling method. Laser metal 3D printing technology is widely applied in both injection molding systems, mainly in the manufacturing of mold inserts.

Hot Runner Mold Applications

• In hot      runner molds, the conformal waterways produced by metal 3D printing are      mainly used for manufacturing hot tip sleeves. This design allows the      cooling waterways to be closer to the hot tip gate, effectively solving      problems such as drooling, stringing, yellowing, and carbonization caused      by insufficient cooling. It is particularly suitable for injection molding      of high-gloss and transparent products, significantly improving the      surface quality of the products.

Cold Runner Mold Applications

• In cold      runner molds, the conformal waterways produced by metal 3D printing are      mainly used for manufacturing sprue bushings. In injection molding      applications with high-temperature materials and requiring rapid cooling      of the runner, conformal waterways can more effectively solve problems      such as drooling and stringing, improving injection molding efficiency and      product quality.

Q: Why can the processing method of laser metal 3D printing for molds shorten the injection molding cycle?

A: The production process of injection-molded products generally consists of five steps: mold closing time, filling time, packing time, cooling time, and demolding time. Among them, the cooling time accounts for the largest proportion, approximately 50% to 80%. By adopting the conformal waterways produced by metal 3D printing, the cooling time can be significantly shortened, thereby reducing the entire injection molding cycle. In addition, the hot runner injection molding system combined with hot runner design can also effectively shorten the injection time during the filling stage.

Q: What are specific application cases of mold metal 3D printing in the field of injection molding system processing?

A: For example, a company used metal 3D printing technology to manufacture a cupping mold, which shortened the injection molding cycle by 35% and increased the qualified product rate from the original 85% to 96%.