Additive manufacturing allows us the opportunity to easily add complexity to a design that was previously difficult or impossible to manufacture. Here we use the benefits of additive manufacturing to redesign a vacuum forming mold with internal cooling channels with the goal of decreasing cycle time of the vacuum forming process.
A drawing and CAD model are supplied for a vacuum-forming mold. The task is to remodel the mold to include internal coolant channels. The channels could be for air or water. The outer surface and attachment points and size are important, and must not be changed. The completed design must be 3d printable using a resin-based technology such as SLA (stereolithography), DLP (Digital light processing) or 3SP (Envisiontec proprietary Scan, Spin and Selectively Photocure). Below we will consider the design, thought processes, workflow, and consider the benefits of such changes.