Injection molding requires high initial investment and lead time for tooling, which slows down the introduction of new products to the market. However, 3D printing technology offers a cost-cutting, agile solution to quickly design and fabricate molds for small runs of thermoplastics prototypes or end-use parts.
Watch this panel discussion in which experts from the injection molding industry will discuss how 3D printing enables in-demand mold fabrication to generate hundreds of parts, from idea to production, in a matter of days.
Mark Bartlett, president of the engineering company Novus Applications, and Jacob Fallon, technology development engineer at leading polymer producer Braskem America, delve into this hybrid process. They share design guidelines and injection conditions to manufacture low-run injection molds with 3D printing.
Agenda:
- Expert processes to design a 3D printed mold for injection molding
- Which printing and molding conditions ensure success, including an overview of the Formlabs resins that Novus Applications and Brasken use for the molds
- Strategies for the post-processing workflow, including ejection and demolding
Presenters:
Mark Bartlett
President, Novus Applications
Mark Bartlett has an extensive history in the injection molded plastics industry. His career began as a tool maker / mold builder and later transitioned into an engineering role designing high-cavitation injection molds. After starting Novus Applications in 2013, the company soon transitioned into product development with a specific focus on the consumer products sector. His experience in precision manufacturing, engineering, and product development place him in a uniquely qualified position within the industry. This allows him to address programs from a fundamentally different perspective that in invaluable to larger teams and organizations that tap into the abilities of his company's history and talents.
Jacob Fallon
Technology Development Engineer, Brasken
Jake Fallon is a technology development engineer on the 3D printing team at Brasken. Jake attended undergraduate school at Penn State for plastics engineering and graduate school at Virginia Tech where he received his Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering. Jake has over 7 years of experience in the 3D printing industry and has developed expertise in areas ranging from fundamental material research to end-use application development.
Juliette Combe
Application Engineer, Formlabs
Juliette Combe is an application engineer at Formlabs, conducting research on 3D printing workflows for engineering and manufacturing. Her scope of work includes collaborations with customers, in-house testing, and knowledge transfer through the creation of technical content and training. Previously, she worked in the Open Innovation group at GE Power. She has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from ETH Zurich and carried out research on nano 3D printing at UC Berkeley.
