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Three-dimensional-printed molds and materials for injection molding and rapid tooling applications

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Abstract

This Prospective covers an overview of the injection molding process and the importance of mold design and tooling considerations, important material requirements and thermal properties for molds, polymer material requirements for injection molding, mold flow analysis, and the promise of using the 3D printing process for mold fabrication. The second part demonstrates the injection molding process using 3D-printed polymer molds and its suitability for low-run productions. 3D-printed molds using stereolithography and fused filament fabrication have been injected with polylactic acid, and the quality of the injected parts was assessed in terms of dimensional accuracy and the damage mechanisms during fabrication.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Department of Science and Technology—Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) and PETRO Case. A portion of this work (R.C.A and Q.C.) is funded by the Department of Energy’s Kansas City National Security Campus, operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC, under contract number DE-NA0002839.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    John Ryan C. Dizon, Arnaldo D. Valino, Lucio R. Souza, Alejandro H. Espera Jr., Qiyi Chen & Rigoberto C. Advincula

  2. Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory, Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture, Bataan Peninsula State University, City of Balanga, Bataan, 2100, Philippines

    John Ryan C. Dizon

  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Adamson University, Manila City, Metro Manila, 1000, Philippines

    Arnaldo D. Valino

  4. Electronics Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Architecture, Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City, 8016, Philippines

    Alejandro H. Espera Jr.

  5. Department of Engineering Education, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24016, USA

    Alejandro H. Espera Jr.

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  1. John Ryan C. Dizon
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Dizon, J.R.C., Valino, A.D., Souza, L.R. et al. Three-dimensional-printed molds and materials for injection molding and rapid tooling applications. MRS Communications 9, 1267–1283 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2019.147

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