Q: What inert gases are used in laser mold 3D printing equipment?

A: Nitrogen or argon.

Q: If a tapping process is required for metal 3D printed molds, what should be paid attention to regarding the processing sequence?

A: If tapping is required for metal 3D printed mold inserts, it is crucial to complete it before heat treatment. In the unlikely event that tapping is needed after heat treatment, manual tapping is impossible due to the high hardness, and electrical discharge tapping must be used instead.

Q: When using the graft printing method, what precautions should be taken during processing?

A: During graft printing, the bonding between the base and the printed part is critical. The base must undergo a heat treatment process of quenching + high-temperature tempering to ensure its performance. Meanwhile, edges, holes, grooves, and other structures on the grafting surface should avoid chamfers to prevent alignment deviations.

Q: What are the post-processing techniques for laser metal 3D printing of molds? Is allowance reservation required?

A: After printing, metal 3D printed mold inserts typically have a reserved allowance of 0.5mm-1mm to facilitate subsequent finishing by customers. The surface of metal 3D printed parts may have roughness, porosity, and other issues, requiring surface treatment to improve surface quality and corrosion resistance, ensuring the final precision and performance of the mold. Common surface treatment methods include sandblasting, polishing, electroplating, and chemical treatment.

Q: What is the precision of molds produced by laser metal 3D printing? Is further surface treatment required?

A: The surface of 3D-printed metal parts has a certain roughness, approximately Ra10, which cannot meet the assembly precision requirements for workpieces. Through subsequent post-treatments such as sandblasting, polishing, and grinding, the surface roughness can be improved to Grade A1 or even A0, fully satisfying the requirements for high-precision assembly and appearance.

Q: What are the precautions for mold maintenance?

A: Mold maintenance is crucial for extending its service life and maintaining performance. Mold maintenance can be carried out through the following methods:

• When the      mold is out of use, use compressed air to clean residual water in the      conformal waterways and spray anti-rust oil to prevent corrosion.

• If      conditions permit, try injecting anti-rust liquid directly into the      cooling water tower for real-time maintenance.

• It is      recommended to use a waterway cleaning machine to clean rust, scale, and      other impurities inside the mold cooling pipes after the conformal      waterway insert pipes have been used for a period.

• Meanwhile,      regularly inspect and maintain all components of the mold to ensure its normal      operation and efficient production.

Conclusion

The emergence of mold metal 3D printing technology has not only brought revolutionary changes to the mold manufacturing industry but also provided strong support for improving the quality and production efficiency of injection-molded products. With the continuous development and improvement of the technology, mold metal 3D printing will demonstrate its unique advantages and value in more fields.

Han's Matrix3D's has deepened its presence in laser metal 3D printing for more than a decade and owns multiple professional equipment models for various mold manufacturing, such as HANS-M260, HANS-M460, HANS-720, etc., which can process various molds of different sizes and industries. Currently, the company has mold processing technologies such as die cutting, blanking dies, compound dies, extrusion dies, four-slide molds, progressive dies, stamping dies, and die-cutting molds, which can be widely applied in the precision mold processing industry.