EUROPEAN TOOL & MOULD MAKING

The trade magazine for tool, mould & die making

Volume XVI | Issue 5 | May 2014 | ISSN 2194-7589 [ €11 www.etmm-online.com

manner SIDEGATE

C O C / C O P - Side Injection with

Valve Gating

Additive Manufacturing

Industry News Industrial machinery sales to remain strong

Special Report New major German fair

6 for die and mould W »

Interview Augustin Niavas, EOS tooling manager 38

V o g e l Bus iness Med ia

/ / / / / / / / /

/ C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A / / / / / / / / /

Metal additive manufacturing to gain ground in die and mould Systems that can 3D print metal parts with a selective laser sintering process are already helping create advanced injection moulds. The technology is exf3ected to penetrate further into the sector, according to EOS.

Germany's EOS is one of the world's

leading producers of Systems for ad­

dit ive manufac tu r ing w i t h metal . It is

work ing w i t h a r änge of companies and

research organisations i n Europe and

beyond to advance the technology and

apply i t to more appl icat ions. W e dis­

cussed the current l imits o n the produc­

t ion process and its future w i t h Augustin

Niavas, the company's business develop­

ment manager for tool ing.

E T M M : What does your Company offer to

the tool and die maker?

Augustin Niavas: W h e n we talk at EOS

about tooling, we talk about four applica­

t ions. First is the manufac tu r ing of i n -

y tili

serts w i t h the integration of the confor-

m a l coo l ing feature to improve the pro­

duct iv i ty of the m o u l d and the plastic

qual i ty of the produet. The second ap­

pl icat ion where we expect some business

this year is for the manufac tur ing of i n -

serts for die casting applications. T h i r d

f ie ld of interest is the repair applications,

where our technology can give back the

complete func t iona l i ty of the m o l d fo-

cusing on ly o n the damaged area. A n d

the f o u r t h appl ica t ion area is what we

have been offer ing for many years: rapid

prototyping and rapid tool ing .

E T M M : Have you noticed any recent major

advancements in conformal cooling?

Tool insert and injection-rnoulding component:

Thanks to conformal cooling the time required

for cooling was reduced from 7 4 to just 8 sec-

onds for each cycle, and part quality improved.

Niavas: Today, the market is driven by the

parts or inserts manufactured by service

providers. If we have a look at the distri­

bu t ion of the machines, 70-75% of Sys­

tems are sold to service companies ,

w h i c h b u i l d up their business a round

our Systems and they focus on insert de­

sign or opt imisat ion and the Simulat ion

a n d improvement of the i n j e c t i o n

m o u l d i n g processes. [This] is the best

way to show e n d customers that this

technology works - w i t h all the benefits

it can offer. A n d , they seil the inserts. I

cal l these companies ' t oo l ing Solut ion

providers'. They are able to address the

challenges of the O E M s or the m o u l d

makers, analyse it, and w i t h dedicated

design, decide how to optimise it.

ETM M: What is your experience with shops ?

Niavas: O f t e n times, the most challeng-

ing customers for us are the m o u l d mak­

ers. It's a bit of a paradox. Once the tech­

no logy is established as a p r o d u c t i o n

technology - and is a reference technol­

ogy for too l ing - t hen most of the ma­

chines w i l l be f o u n d at m o u l d m a k i n g

shops. Today, m o u l d makers still prefer

to use an external service provider.

E T M M : What is stopping shops from pur-

chasingyour Systems?

Niavas: At a first glance, the amount of

the perceived costs. If you are, for exam­

ple, a m o u l d maker, and y o u have to seil

a m o u l d to an O E M i n a global context,

y o u can be sure y o u w i l l be compet ing

w i t h m o u l d makers f r o m a l l over the

world , i n a p i t ch w h i c h is mostly price-

driven. Even if y o u are a very advanced

m o u l d maker and able to deliver a Solu­

t ion that performs but is more expensive,

y o u are negot ia t ing w i t h a buyer w h o

obviously is not always interested i n the

cycle t ime or the produet quali ty but is

pr incipal ly focusing o n the m o u l d cost.

Of course, Performances and quali ty are

38 European Tool & Mould Making | May 2014 | www.etmm-onl ine.com

\ s \ \ \ \ \ \ " o C O V E R S T O R Y | Q & A

www-

A 3D view ofthe inner cooling Channels ofa

tool insert, which could not be manufactured

using conventional machining.

part of the deal, but price is s t i l l a key

decision factor. In the end, the confor­

m a l cooling Solution is not always pro-

posed. W e need a change i n mindset :

once the c o n f o r m a l c o o l i n g Solut ion

makes its way in to the O E M ' s specifica­

t i on process, the acceptance of the tech­

n o l o g y w i l l increase automatical ly. In

addit ion, we should not forget the short-

er amortisation period of the inserts and

the energy savings.

E T M M : That's during the biddingprocess.

But this changes later, right?

Niavas: W h a t sometimes happens then,

for example i n the car industry, is that

the project needs fur ther op t imisa t ion

loops to meet the requirements of cus­

tomers, w h i c h can require fur ther re-

sources and result i n addi t ionai delays.

These improvement cycles provide a real

chance to implement conformal cool ing

solutions and business opportunities for

the too l ing Solution providers. But w i t h

this f ragmentat ion of the market, at the

m o m e n t i t is no t that interest ing for

m o u l d makers to acquire the system as it

is stil l not fu l ly perceived as a reference

t echno logy for too l ing . O u r goal is to

change this perception by improving the

vis ibi l i ty of the EOS technology o n the

customer side.

E T M M : What eise is holding shops back?

Niavas: M a n y m o u l d makers st i l l associ­

ate risk w i t h this technology. As a m o u l d

maker, you on ly want products or solu­

tions that are w e l l - k n o w n , that have

been o n the market for a long t ime, are

established and for w h i c h historical and

Statistical data are available. Reliabi l i ty

is key, too, since m o u l d makers need to

deliver a warranty o n the l i fe t ime

moulds . Even i f a shop has been fami l i ä r

w i t h the technology for five years, it st i l l

needs a longer learning curve to f u l l y

master it. Basically, a m o u l d maker needs

to go back to review and update an i m ­

portant part of the know-how acquired

over the years to be able to tap into the

fül l potential of additive manufacturing.

The freedom of design, for example, can

lead to h igher p roduc t iv i t y and insert

quality. Y o u need to learn first h o w to

achieve the right design. So, to make life

easier, a m o u l d maker does not want to

purchase the equ ipment h imse l f a n d

take control of the technology. Instead,

he of ten prefers to rely on external Serv­

ice, always w i t h an eye on risk.

E T M M : Why use conformal inserts?

Niavas: W h e n y o u are m a k i n g c o o l i n g

Channels w i t h convent ional methods -

dr i l l ing , us ing baffles, etc. - m u c h effort

is needed to f i n d a good compromise for

the product ivi ty of your tool. W i t h this

technology, i f y o u decide to put the

Channel 3 m m away f r o m the cavity or

on top of a very long core (when structur-

ally acceptable), our system w i l l pr int it!

It's no longer about l ook ing for a com­

promise since y o u can make the design

you have been t h i n k i n g about.

E T M M : When will shops aeeept the method?

Niavas: H i g h qual i ty parts a n d success

stories can conv ince people that this

A tool insert and the corresponding injection-

moulded component, which had a faster cycle

time and better housing quality.

Niavas said advancements in additive manu­

facturing will eventually allow it to be used for

making mould cavities.

method really works for tool ing, that it

is not creating a risk for tool makers, but

that it can instead help to create a success

story. The challenge, as always, is that

w h e n it works, people don' t want to talk

about it. We need to be patient. It takes

t ime to ro l l out a new technology.

E T M M : What kind of market penetration do

you have in this sector?

Niavas: We are growing our business each

year. Today, on ly a small number of the

moulds bui l t use this technology.

E T M M : Will additive technology eventually

be used for the cavity?

Niavas: There are some benefits , but

there are some challenges, too. The v o l ­

ume of material to be processed is higher,

you need a bigger industr ial 3D printer

and more t ime to manufacture the part.

This w i l l come, but we still need improve­

ments i n hardware and the process side.

E T M M : EOS has worked with metal additive

technology since 1999. Do you have an edge

over other companies currently planning to

enter the market?

Niavas: Yes. The b i g difference o n the

metal side comes f r o m mastering all the

g involved process parameters. You cannot

m reinvent yourself as a metal process spe-

s cialist i n a short per iod of t ime. O

EOS,

Krailling, Germany.

eos.info

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