New 3D printing material Additive Manufacturing in Injection Moulding: Partnership results in game-changing material

Related Vendors

Swiss Steel Holding AG

AMPCO METAL Deutschland GbmH

Ramada Acos

The creative engineers of the Swiss Steel Group and the global OEM Addup came together to launch a new material for additive manufacturing that is optimised for injection moulding applications.

The creative engineers of the Swiss Steel Group and the global OEM Addup came together to launch a new material for additive manufacturing that is optimised for injection moulding applications. This collaboration concentrated engineering knowledge of future customer requirements and is supposed to lead to a product launch by Addup in the near future.

“Printdur HCT has what it takes to be a real game changer, because it has all the properties that users want. Corrosion resistance, hardness and wear resistance for injection moulding applications to an excellent degree”, says Julien Marcilly, CEO of Addup.

Printdur HCT was developed by the Swiss Steel Group on the basis of the conventional standard tool steel 1.2083/AISI420 for additive manufacturing, customised for it, so to speak. The focus during development was on applications with powder bed fusion machines such as the Addup Formup 350 Powder Bed Fusion (PBF).

The Addup quality management protocols ensured an improvement in the build-up speed compared to previous materials. This is achieved without cracks and with extremely low porosity and a material density of over 99.9 percent compared to the standard material. This innovative material can also be used to create high-quality surfaces without smoke residue.

According to the companies, Printdur HCT is ideally suited to the requirements of injection moulding and can significantly reduce production cycles thanks to conformal cooling channels. Most of the internal cooling channels will be optimised in top quality and without support structures.

Wear resistance and service life

With a hardness range of 53-57 HRC and high wear resistance, combined with good corrosion resistance, Printdur HCT offers a longer service life for mould inserts. With a one-step heat treatment at 540 degrees C, Printdur HCT achieves a hardness of approx. 53HRC and is ready for injection moulding applications as the material can withstand high temperatures without losing hardness.

Printdur HCT is manufactured without nickel and cobalt. This makes it environmentally friendly and in line with the Swiss Steel Group's sustainability and green steel strategy. It also sets high sustainability standards with its powder recycling.

The partners believe that the combined benefits of this material will lead to greater acceptance of additive manufacturing technology in toolmaking and enable it to spread quickly.

Looking to the future

Addup has set itself the goal of revolutionising injection moulding applications and improving the efficiency of tools through additive manufacturing. The company believes that the development of Printdur HCT and other mould-specific materials in its portfolio will strongly support this goal. “Addup will take toolmaking to the next level with the Formup 350. As a company, we have extensive expertise in the application of moulds thanks to our founding partners Michelin and Fives,” says the CEO of Addup. He continues: “With our experience and expertise in this industry, we are driving the possibilities of additive manufacturing forward and proving that it is more efficient and productive.”

Printdur HCT is now ready for the production of high-quality proofs of concept and is currently being used on the Formup 350 machine at Addup's Tooling Competence Centre in Aachen. It is now available for the production of prototypes.

As soon as development is fully completed in early 2024, it will be available for production.

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