Reduce Thermoforming Mold Costs and Time with Pellet 3D Printing
In recent years, the global supply chain has faced repeated pressures and disruptions. It began with the COVID-19 pandemic, when demand spikes and the nature of the crisis quickly depleted critical items. Disruptions continued through 2023, driven in part by geopolitical tensions such as the invasion of Ukraine, with some reports indicating that as many as 80% of companies experienced at least one interruption. These challenges have affected markets worldwide, including in the United States.
A direct result of these disruptions is a renewed interest in local, flexible manufacturing. Increasingly, manufacturers are turning to additive manufacturing to produce high-quality, cost-effective parts faster. Large-format pellet extrusion 3D printing has become a practical option for many production environments, enabling faster turnaround and lower material costs compared with conventional tooling methods. For example, thermoforming shops such as Duo Form have leveraged large-format pellet 3D printers to create mid- to large-sized thermoforming molds at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional mold-making processes.
To explore these advances in more detail, join the upcoming SPE webinar “Reduce Costs And Lead Times For Large Thermoforming Molds With Ext Titan Pellet 3D Printers,” featuring experts from 3D Systems and Duo Form. The webinar will take place on October 24, from 15:00 to 16:00 CET. Attendees will learn how Duo Form integrated pellet-based 3D printing into its manufacturing workflow to increase agility by producing production molds, tooling, and representative parts for thermoforming and vacuum forming.
Register for free to attend and learn more about:
How pellet extrusion 3D printing can reduce mold print times by up to tenfold and cut material costs dramatically when compared with traditional methods;
Case studies from Duo Form that highlight return on investment and real-world performance improvements;
Best practices to improve additive production and mold performance, including techniques for printing porous molds, using infill strategies to enhance vacuum draw and suction, and other process optimizations;
How to choose the right 3D printing solution for your needs, including options for hybrid additive-subtractive systems.
Speakers
Dave Rheinheimer brings 40 years of thermoforming experience. He has worked across sales, production, product design, operations management, and mold shop leadership. Throughout his career, Dave has focused on improving tooling and thermoformed part design and processing. He founded Majestic Formed Plastics, which Duo Form acquired in 2009. Dave now leads the development of new and enhanced products at Duo Form, driving innovations that improve manufacturability and reduce lead times.
Nino Pecina is a robotics programmer and CAD engineer at Duo Form with a decade of thermoforming industry experience. With three years using 3D printers and five years in tooling and mold fabrication, Nino currently runs Duo Form’s Titan pellet 3D printer to produce large molds and other components that are integral to Duo Form’s manufacturing workflow.
Clay Guillory is a mechanical engineer with extensive experience in additive manufacturing, pellet extrusion 3D printing, and CNC machining. He founded Titan Robotics in 2014 to develop large-format printers and launched the Titan pellet 3D printer along with hybrid additive-subtractive systems. After Titan Robotics joined 3D Systems in April 2022, Clay now leads the Titan business within 3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group, expanding production-grade additive manufacturing solutions for industrial customers.
Bradley Mount has 25 years of experience in additive manufacturing across polymer and metal technologies. As head of sales and technology operations, Bradley has helped hundreds of companies adopt additive manufacturing to solve engineering, production, and business challenges. He now leads global business development for 3D Systems – Titan, focusing on commercializing robust, production-ready additive systems for industry.
The post Reduce Thermoforming Mold Costs and Time with Pellet 3D Printing first appeared on 3dcatia.