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BURLINGTON, Mass .– (COMMERCIAL THREAD) –Office metal, the company committed to making metal 3D printing accessible to engineers and manufacturers, today announced the launch of H13 Tool Steel for Studio System â„¢, the world’s first metal 3D printing system suitable for the desktop for prototyping and low volume production. Characterized by its heat treatment stability, exceptional hot hardness and abrasion resistance, H13 is a tool steel widely used in hot work applications. High toughness and hardness also make it an ideal metal for cold work tooling applications.
Expanding the Studio System material portfolio to include H13 tool steel allows designers and engineers to print mold inserts, extrusion dies, forging dies and sheet metal tools, including stamping, embossing, bending and milling, â€said Ric Fulop, CEO and co. -founder of Desktop Metal. “This is a key competitive advantage to enable rapid iteration and refinement of tools requiring H13, and reduction in manufacturing times. The teams will also be able to produce complex geometries that have not been possible with traditional manufacturing methods such as machining.
The first applications of H13 parts printed with the Studio System illustrate the benefits in a variety of industries:
Medical: Mouthpiece injection molding core
Injection molding cores are used for molding mouthpieces for asthma inhalers. H13 is an ideal material for this part due to its hot hardness and abrasion resistance. During the injection molding process, cooling a mold like this can traditionally represent up to 95 percent of the complete mold cycle time. By 3D printing the mold with the Studio System, the part can incorporate a conformal cooling channel that closely follows the profile of the molding surfaces, thereby increasing the cooling rate of the mold. This greatly reduces the mold cycle time, which can allow more parts to be molded every hour. Additionally, 3D printing the mold to a near clean shape will reduce the wear and tear on the EDM tooling required to finish the mold, reducing both time and cost.
“Wear resistance, high hardness, toughness and thermal fatigue resistance are just a few of the advantages of the H13. The downside was always that a toolmaker wanted to work with. Now that it is. available with the Studio system, all of these same benefits will be ready to deploy on the shop floor in days rather than months, â€said Chris Aiello, COO at Alpha Precision Group. “At Alpha Precision Group, our customers want to get to market faster. Design validation, biocompatibility and market testing are just some of the doors our customers may have to go through; being able to get them there. earlier using the Studio System’s printed H13 tooling and fasteners will be a significant competitive advantage. ”
Industry: extrusion die
The complex geometry of an extrusion die often makes it a difficult part to machine. This limits the ability of manufacturers to iterate over the design of the extrusion die, in part due to the high lead time and cost of machining. At the same time, the part must be able to withstand the extreme temperatures and pressures required to successfully push molten materials through the extrusion die. 3D printing in H13 tool steel enables design teams to quickly and easily produce dies with complex extrusion profiles previously inaccessible by machining.
Fashion / Consumer Products: Zipper Die Casting Mold
This part is used to mold a zinc zipper which is then attached to a garment. The mold features many fine details, such as a logo, textures and subtle draft angles that are critical to the successful casting of the part. By 3D printing with the high resolution Desktop Metal Studio System nozzle, users can achieve the fine detail required for that part and also save valuable time and cost compared to traditional mold machining methods. Additionally, the hot working capability of the H13 enables mold making for die casting applications.
“In my experience, H13 3D printing for sheet metal forming and stamping tools is an opportunity for a competitive advantage that will be hard to match,†said Steve Lynch, Director of Business Development at Macy Industries , Inc. “Breaking the standard of how stamping dies are designed and created will be a huge engineering step, reducing the time and cost of prototyping new ideas.
H13 is the latest addition to the Studio System material library, which also includes 316L and 17-4 PH stainless steels. Desktop Metal plans to add other base metals to its portfolio, including superalloys, carbon steels and copper. To learn more about H13 and the Studio System, please visit www.desktopmetal.com.
About Desktop Metal
Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Mass., Is accelerating manufacturing transformation with end-to-end metal 3D printing solutions. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy and robotics, the company is addressing unmet challenges of speed, cost and quality to make metal 3D printing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. Desktop Metal has been selected as one of the 30 most promising in the world Technology pioneers by the World Economic Forum; named to MIT Technology Review list 50 smartest companies; and recognized among the most important innovations in engineering in Popular science “The best of novelties.” For more information visit www.desktopmetal.com.
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