How to Make Injection Molds with a 3D Printer | Berker PolyJet Molds HD

For more information on PolyJet 3D Printing Visit - http://goo.gl/34GAIv For more information on Stratasys PolyJet Production 3D Printers visit http://goo.gl/noClnH Berker is a leading German designer and manufacturer of high-quality electronic switches and intelligent building management systems. The company has won numerous awards for its designs, which can be found in buildings around the world. Recently, Berker needed to test a newly designed electrical component which required parts produced using injection molding. Once assembled, the parts had to pass an electrostatic discharge (ESD) test conducted by an independent testing agency. That meant the switch prototype had to use the same materials as the final part. Instead of using metal injection molds to test the designs, which would have been very costly and time-consuming to produce, Berker decided to try 3D printed injection molds. One of the biggest challenges was that the newly designed parts needed to fit precisely in order to snap fit together with an existing metal mold produced part. Three different component materials were chosen for injection: ASA, PC and TPE. Each injection mold required very different geometries. Injection molding, the process of injecting plastic material into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity, is one of the world’s most widely used manufacturing processes. Increasingly, 3D printed injection molds (3DP IM) are being used to create prototype parts in order to detect issues in the part’s form, fit or function. To obtain a complete and accurate assessment of a part’s functional performance or to run safety tests on electrical components, injection molded parts must be produced using the actual materials of the final production part. Historically, the only option to create injection molded parts for testing has been to machine an aluminum (soft) tool. While these molds are far less expensive than their steel (hard) counterparts, costs and lead times are still significant. For example, the price to create a small straight-pull mold ranges from $2,500 to $15,000, with delivery usually taking 10 days to four weeks. This is an investment that most companies find difficult to justify for a few dozen test parts.