Additive Manufactured Press Tool with Hollow Cores and Inserts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional press tools, whether metal or additive manufactured, face challenges such as high production costs, weight, deformation under large loads, and poor thermal conductivity, which affect their efficiency in part-forming processes.
Innovation Solution
A press tool with an additive manufactured body featuring stacked layers and hollow cores, coupled with press inserts that distribute pressing loads and facilitate thermal communication, allowing for efficient load distribution and thermal management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional metal press tools are used, then mechanical strength and durability are improved, but manufacturing cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The press tool is divided into multiple functional components: a additive manufactured body providing structural framework, separate press inserts for load distribution, and hollow cores for thermal management. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The press tool combines additive manufactured material with metal press inserts to create a composite structure. The additive manufactured body provides cost-effective structural support, while the metal press inserts provide the necessary mechanical strength and load distribution capabilities, achieving both cost reduction and strength requirements.
2Strength
If conventional metal press tools are used, then mechanical strength is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Hollow cores are incorporated into the press tool body to create a porous or hollowed-out structure. This reduces the overall weight of the tool while maintaining structural integrity through the strategic placement of hollow spaces that do not compromise the load-bearing capacity of the press inserts and additive manufactured body.
3Ease of manufacture
If additive manufactured tools are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but through-thickness strength and load-bearing capacity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The press tool is divided into multiple functional components: a additive manufactured body providing structural framework, separate press inserts for load distribution, and hollow cores for thermal management. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while reducing overall manufacturing complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The press tool combines additive manufactured material with metal press inserts to create a composite structure. The additive manufactured body provides cost-effective structural support, while the metal press inserts provide the necessary mechanical strength and load distribution capabilities, achieving both cost reduction and strength requirements.
4Ease of manufacture
If additive manufactured tools are used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but thermal conductivity and high temperature tolerance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Hollow cores filled with thermally conductive material or designed to facilitate thermal transfer act as intermediaries between the additive manufactured body and the part being formed. These hollow cores enable effective heat transfer from the additive manufactured tool to the part, compensating for the inherently poor thermal conductivity of additive manufactured materials.
5Strength
If additive manufactured tools are bulked up with more material and thicker structures, then load-bearing capacity is improved, but weight and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly thickening the entire press tool body, the design incorporates local reinforcements at critical locations where load-bearing capacity is needed. The press inserts are strategically positioned at key structural points to provide localized strength enhancement, while the rest of the additive manufactured body maintains a lightweight structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables cost-effective, lightweight, and thermally efficient press tools that maintain mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, improving the forming process's effectiveness and reducing tooling costs.
Implementation Method 1
The hollow cores are in thermal communication with the thermal unit for receiving the thermal load
Implementation Method 2
The press inserts distribute the pressing load along the longitudinal and lateral walls
Data Source
AI summary
A press tool for a press assembly includes an additive manufactured body including a plurality of stacked layers of additive manufacturable material extending between an interior side and an exterior side. The interior side has a part forming surface including a surface profile for forming a part. The exterior side has a plurality of hollow cores defined by longitudinal walls and lateral walls meeting at joints. Press inserts are coupled to the longitudinal walls and the lateral walls at the exterior side. The press inserts are configured to be pressed inward by a pressing load during a pressing operation for forming the part. The press inserts distribute the pressing load along the longitudinal and lateral walls.