Cincinnati Incorporated and Marine Concepts to debut 3D printed molding tool
Cincinnati Incorporated’s Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine was used to create a 3D printed light resin transfer molding (LRTM) tool that will be showcased at the IBEX boat-building trade show in Tampa Florida October 1-3, 2019.
3D printed light resin transfer molding (LRTM) tool Source | Cincinnati Incorporated
Cincinnati Incorporated (CI, Harrison, Ohio, U.S.), a U.S.-based, build-to-order machine tool manufacturer, will introduce a 3D printed light resin transfer molding (LRTM) tool that was printed on its Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine. The mold consists of an upper and lower piece, and it will help determine the efficacy of replacing existing methods with additive manufacturing. The 3D printed mold display at the show will be roughly six feet wide, three feet deep and four feet tall. The two mold halves were printed in just 6 hours, and are made out of carbon fiber reinforced ABS plastic.
“The printed mold display at IBEX will be a prototype of what we envision this ultimately becoming,” says Alex Riestenberg, additive manufacturing project manager at CI. “One of the benefits of 3D printing is how quickly a process can evolve and be perfected, and this mold will showcase what the BAAM is capable of.”
Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine Source | Cincinnati Incorporated
Design Concepts Marine Concepts (DCMC, Sarasota, Fla., U.S) collaborated with CI on the project. DCMC is a cutting edge composites manufacturer with a skilled 3D CAD and engineering staff that designs, engineers, machines, 3D digitizes, tests and evaluates CNC plugs, composite molds, CNC parts, composite parts, limited production, scale models and CNC cold mold kits.
“We pursued 3D printed LTRM patterns to explore the cost savings in the method as well as durability during the molding process,” says Ross Kennedy, director of business development at DCMC. “Although this method is not yet ready for production, we do see the potential of the application and plan to continue development with CI.”
CI (booth I-615) and Design Concepts Marine Concepts (DCMC, booth 3-1031) at the IBEX boat-building trade show in Tampa, Fla., U.S.).
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