Tool Design - LASER CUSING TECHNOLOGY...a intro...

                                     
                                             LaserCusing-technology was developed specifically for the mouldmaking industry. This is why components produced by LaserCusing can be used without any restrictions in moulds for plastic processing and in light metal diecasting applications. In addition, any conventional finishing method such as milling, turning, grinding, polishing, coating, nitride surface hardening, etc., can be applied to parts made by LaserCusing.

Applications

                                                    LaserCusing is the only Layer Manufacturing Technology (LMT) which provides complete freedom of geometry for both the inside and outside of hardened steel components. While at first the technology was used mostly in the mould and die industry, its unique combination of properties for fabricating parts has given rise to many additional applications.

Mould Applications

LaserCusing technology was developed by the Hofmann Innovation Group GmbH of Germany. LaserCusing technology’s manufacturing heritage means that it can be used for tool and mouldmaking applications without any restrictions!.

By combining a corrosion-resistant, hardened tool steel with interior conformal cooling, tools can be created which are free of problems, overcome thermal shock, and have increased mould lifetime and production rates. 

For example the BMW car company runs its own LaserCusing-machine for optimizing its suppliers’ pressure diecasting-processes, enabling them to maximize profit from this new technology.

Cycle time reduction

                                                  Besides improving your process and the quality of your parts, LaserCusing can also be used to simply shorten cooling times. For example, injection moulding machine suppliers have gone from hydraulic to fully electric machine operation, and from single machine movements to multiple axis movements, but cooling time has remained the same as it was in the 1960's. 

Now with LaserCusing, cooling media can be to brought to locations which couldn’t be reached before. We’ve experienced a general reduction in cooling time of 10 to 40%. Even shorter cycle times are possible, and the general dimensional accuracy of parts increases, as well.

  Process optimization
 

                                                      Use LaserCusing inserts to solve temperature-related defect problems and bring cooling to isolated cores and cavities in moulds.

Not only will dimensional accuracy increase, but also trapped air or burn spots can be eliminated by making some areas of the insert slightly porous. Trapped air is easily vented leaving no marks on the part.

Flow paths in thin walled packaging products can be extended by simply adding separate heating/tempering channels to each corner of the packaging:

1. No runners needed
2. Only the wall thickness will require cooling time, not the runners

               

 

Hot runner tip cooling

                                         The heating of mould areas around the hot runner tip can cause visual defects and lost cycle time due to the extensive cooling time required to freeze the melt at the injection point.

By simply adding a small triangle-shaped cooling channel around the hot runner tip, problems like these can simply be avoided. Since this part can be easily made by a hybrid construction technique, this solution provides a very short return on investment!

After a testing several applications in hot runner injection systems, the German-based company Männer Hotrunner Systems bought its own LaserCusing machine to provide this technology in its product line. Bring this advantage to your own mould or machine!

                                                                                                                                 

Specials

By making parts layer-by-layer, we’re able to manufacture almost any geometry in steel. Here are just a few examples of the kind of parts we’re able to build. 

Materials

LaserCusing can be used with several different steel materials for fabricating mould inserts from 3D CAD data. Material choice can be optimized for specific applications. 

Benefits of LASER CUSING

1. Improves the Part Quality.

2. Aesthetic Improvements, free from Sink Marks, Warpage etc.

3. Reduces Cycle time upto 30~40% in Cooling time.

4. Short Return on Investment from the part production.

5. Insert cooling lines to be redesigned using conformal method, which follows the contour.

6. Hybrid Inserts are possible to manufacture to make it cost effective.

7. Possible to implement in both Injection molds and Die casting dies.

8. Heat treatment of inserts possible after the laser cusing process and the hardness can be upto 54 HRC.

9. Hot spots to be identified initially to decide the lasercused insert to make it cost effective

10. Direct Functional parts and Prototypes also possible in Stainless steel, Aluminium, Hotwork steel, Inconel, Titanium materials.