3D Systems today announced that Chicago-based mechanical component supplier Bi-Link Corporation uses 3D-printed injection mold tooling to drive powerful design cycle innovation and slash part development costs. Using several ProJet® 3500 HDMax printers, Bi-Link provides its customers with 3D print injection mold tooling and real-time production-grade test parts in mere hours—all at a fraction of the cost of traditional tooling. Watch this video to see the 3D print injection mold tooling process and applications.
Bi-Link collaborates with engineering teams all over the world to solve complex design challenges from beginning to end. By incorporating the ProJet 3500 HDMax into their workflow, they’ve become exceedingly nimble so they can support rapid design iteration, create production test parts in as little as a day, diagnose problems in manufacturability, and even provide short-run manufacturing for their clients. This gives Bi-Link incredible business agility and a true advantage over prior processes.
"3D printed molds have allowed us to greatly enhance our E2E (engineer to engineer) focus,” said Ray Ziganto, President, Bi-Link. “We are able to provide near real-time design-for-manufacturability and supply pre-prototype parts to verify designs, both of which help our customers reduce their design cycle time."
3DS’ range of shop floor-ready MultiJet and Stereolithography 3D printers support fast, accurate injection mold tooling production. This advanced manufacturing application is helping OEMs, tool & die shops and contract manufacturers shave weeks from their design cycles, saving thousands on tooling costs per mold. Additionally, the unlimited complexity afforded by 3D printing grants complete freedom in the tooling design process.
“The notion that you need metal tooling to manufacture production parts isn’t valid anymore,” said Buddy Byrum, Vice President of Product Management, 3DS. “Bi-Link’s injection mold tooling demonstrates just how disruptive 3D printing can be to manufacturing. In many cases, 3D printed molds can produce parts that would be difficult or impossible with metal tools.”
