D-M-E — 3D Metal Printing

Build The Unmachineable
You°Ove seen it before (R)C the part demands cooling in places you just can°Ot get water, they need to see parts yesterday, or the tool is too complex to efficiently fabricate using conventional machining (R)C and you just can°Ot find a way to make it happen. That°Os beca conventional metalworking technology has limited the ability to implement designs requiring demanding mold geometries.
3D Metal Printing (R) D-M-E, the leader in mold tooling technology, introduces MoldFusion a solid fusion technology using metal powder to actually print the most complex external and internalgeometries in a finished tool.
A better way to build better tools
MoldFusion technology was developed by MIT to enable the fabrication of a solid part from powdered metals. MoldFusion is an additive process that builds the final solid shape from a 3D CAD solid model. This technology allows construction of tooling in ways that are not possible (or practical) using conventional subtractive machining methods.
Not a replacement (R)C an alternativ
MoldFusion isn°Ot a replacement for conventional tooling, just a solution for application that aren°Ot efficient or reasonable using normal metalworking. With MoldFusion, we ca even help you achieve shapes, paths and geometries that were previously impossible (R) it°Os like having a rubber drill.
What applications are well-suited to MoldFusion?
With MoldFusion technology, you can break free from the limitations of conventional metalworking techniques to implement almost anything you design. Some key applications include:
Conformally cooled inserts°(TM)place cooling line closer to the part to speed heat evacuation and reduce cycle time up to 35% or more
Structural mass reduction of tooling° replaces material mass with structural support in the tool to improve thermal profiling and reduce tool weight
Dynamic thermal cycling°(TM)combines structura mass reduction with selective heating and cool- ing of the mold to improve finished part quality and enable more complex designs
Quick production tooling for prototype and short- run applications not suitable for conventional techniques or which would have high machine time demands
From partners you can trust (R)C D-M-E and Extrude Hone
D-M-E has been helping to advance mold tooling technologies for almost six decades. We°Ove developed an industry-leading reputation for solutions you can trust and servic you can count on. Extrude Hone Corporation, working with experts at MIT, developed the ProMetal process for 3D metal printing of completed tooling parts. For over 30 years, Extrude Hone has been the leading developer of advanced manufacturing processes including Abrasive Flow Machining.
How does MoldFusion work?
MoldFusion is a 3D metal printing technology that builds a metal component by selectively binding metal powder layer by layer. The finished structural skeleton is then sintered and infiltrated with bronze to produce a finished part that is 60% tool steel and 40% bronze.
Excellent for short-run and prototype tools
With MoldFusion, you can cost-effectively create prototype and short-run tooling that would have previously required dozens of machine hours°(TM)hours you might never recove in the final tool. Tooling components made with the MoldFusion process are near-net shape parts, requiring only final machining.
Maximize labor and capital investment
Because MoldFusion is a service from D-M-E, you get expert implementation straight from your CAD file, without having to buy costly capital equipment. You pay only for the tooling parts you need. MoldFusion also helps you optimize machine loading by enabling an alter- native for high material removal applications.