colorFabb - 3D Printed patterns for investment casting
11Pages

3D printed patterns for investment casting 1

Spectra3D Technologies. Leading the Way in 3D Printed Casting Patterns is Spectra3D Technologies. They specialize in the creation of highly accurate 3d printed investment casting patterns. Spectra 3D uses colorFabb PLA/PHA in combination with the Stacker 3D printers. For more information visit spectra3d.com

This brochure will present a case study how 3D printing can improve the process of making metal parts using investment casting, by reducing cost & time-to-part. We partnered with Cirex B.V. to explore the use of PLA/PHA as material for patterns. Traditionally investment casting uses wax patterns. These patterns are made using metal molds, making the tooling is an expensive process and can take several weeks. For small series, or one off products creating a mold is not a cost effective solution for foundry companies. 3D printing on the other hand presents numerous advantages enabling...

'> cire;high-grade steel components For more information visit cirex.nl Instead of investing in tooling, foundry companies can choose to 3D print their patterns in a material suited for investment casting. ColorFabb PLA/PHA Natural is a material uniquily suited for investment casting. It's an easy printing material capable of creating complex shapes with great smooth surface finish and will work with most desktop and industrial type FFF 3D printing machines. The material decomposes at around 600C and ensures a clean burnout leaving behind a clean mold ready for casting.

Checking the burnout of PLA/PHA Natural, breaking the mold to inspect pattern for residue. Patterns printed on the Stacker S4, 0.2mm layerheight at 20% infill.

CUT DOWN ON DEVELOPMENT TIME Desired part Develop tooling Metal part Desired part Metal part Skipping the tooling development step saves a huge amount of time. Typically this could shorten the time to a first metal casted part by 3-4 weeks. Not being dependent on a third party mold supplier also reduces risk in time sensitive projects. depending on the size of the part. This makes it possible to iterate on the design multiple times even within a single day. The material cost of printed patterns is around €30,- p/kg. Parts are generally printed with the least amount of material needed, which...

The Stacker 3D printer was used for this test case. It prints incredibly reliable with PLA/PHA and is able to print parts accurate and consistent. Printing with multiple nozzles cuts down on series produciton time, 2x faster for the Stacker S2 and 4x faster for the Stacker S4 compared to a single nozzle FFF 3D printer. The Stacker S2 and S4 can be set-up for small series production, or single large part printing. Mounting up to 4 toolheads on the x-carriage gives the user higher output, but reduces the build volume. The alternative is to mount only a single toolhead and take advantage of...

The Stacker S2 is the smaller brother of Stacker s range of industrial grade 3D printers. Featuring a large build volume, configurable dual printheads and first class engineering components to provide an industrial grade 3D printing quality to a wide range of customers looking to 3D print from Prototype to Production™. 2X Faster Print Speeds or multi-material mode STACKER's multi-part printing technology allows you to print two copies of the same part, at the same time, in different materials or colors. The same two heads can also be used for multi-material printing, combining a semi-flex...

The Stacker S4 fully embodies its motto: from Prototype to Production. Whether you are in need of fast multi-part production runs or large and/or complex protoypes, the S4 has you covered. It's 4 flexible printheads can be grouped together for multi-material printing, spaced apart for 4x print speed or stored outside the printer to allow the use of the S4's massive build volume of more than 116 liters. 4X Faster Print Speeds or multi-material mode STACKER's multi-part printing technology allows you to print four copies of the same part, at the same time, in different materials or colors....