In this case study, we collaborated with a mold manufacturer to provide an optimization solution for mold cooling efficiency to a well-known household appliance company. During production testing, the household appliance company discovered that the cooling cycle for ribs inside the refrigerator drawer mold lasted as long as 70 seconds, resulting in unstable rubber quality and hindering efficient large-scale production. To address this challenge, the appliance company’s collaborative mold manufacturing partner, who is also our partner mold company, proposed the use of metal 3D printing technology to create inserts (width 10mm, height 70mm) at the ribs of the rubber to manufacture molds with innovative waterway designs to enhance mold cooling efficiency and product quality.
Traditional machining methods often limit the realization of complex waterway designs, whereas metal 3D printing can precisely print intricate conformal waterways, improving cooling effects, reducing molding cycles, and enhancing product quality. The application of this advanced technology has made mold design more flexible, providing substantial value and competitive advantage for customers.
Following discussions between HBD and the mold manufacturing company, it was decided to use the HBD 350 Metal AM System for printing by base joining, producing three inserts of sizes 188.4X23.6X52.1mm, 111.7X23.6X52.1mm, and 191.7X23.6X52.1mm respectively, which were embedded into the original mold. This effectively optimized the mold structure, significantly shortened the molding cycle, and ensured that the product quality met customer expectations.
The customer provided positive feedback on the application of the mold inserts printed by the HBD system. They smoothly integrated this set of mold inserts into their large-scale production line, achieving satisfactory results. This successful case once again confirms the enormous potential of metal 3D printing technology in the field of mold manufacturing.
If you are facing similar technical challenges or seeking solutions to improve production efficiency, please fill out the form below and contact the HBD professional team. We look forward to providing you with the best technical support and exploring more innovative application areas together!
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