3D printed injection molding tool - test #1

[@dumbcat]

instead of using 3D printed molds in your machine have you tried this? 1. 3D print the both halves of the mold 2. Make silicon rubber molds of of the 3D printed molds 3. Pour into the silicon rubber molds a very robust two part liquid resin and after curing use that mold in your machine. I think this might be superior to using the currently limited 3D printable resins offered on the market. Two part liquid resins have been around a long time. There are a lot more to choose from. Instead of getting 100 parts out of your 3D printed mold you might get 500 or 1,000 parts out of a two part resin mold.

[@ShopBotix]

Great suggestion! In fact the use of urethane resins for tooling with injection molding has been done quite extensively for decades. It's a great option and as you point out there are a lot of different resin types including fills. We will be doing some work with 2 part resin tools soon. Thanks for pointing this out.

[@walliinc.9082]

Perfect idea! What resin do you use to pour into silicon rubber?

[@jagodic7]

Hello, im interested in some specs. Which material ware the molds made of? What temps ware u running in the machine? The heater of material and the heater of the molding? Do u use water cooling on the tooling? How much pressure? Thank u so much for any information u can give us!

[@ShopBotix]

Tooling in this video was printed on the Form2 printer and we used their high temp resin. This test was done with PP plastic and temps were 210-230 C. No tool heating. No water cooling was done for this test. However water cooling "could" be used if needed. Pressure varies. As you can see in this test we split the tool on a few shots because the pressure was too low.

[@kaden56]

When this machine closes the two molds together is there some spring on that ball screw or do the plates just rigidly run into each other?

[@teslacoil4335]

most injection molding machines either use compressed air to drive the plates, so you end up with pneumatic clamping forced, or use a large coil spring on the driven side to apply the final clamping force, this gives the opportunity to add a clutch on it aswell to set a maximum clamping force

[@ishaksynset81dhiab8]

Where is this manufactured product used ?

[@namod6538]

Looking forward to hear the price for the machine =)

[@lee-roy6121]

$5k for the small, $10k for the large

[@jinsadt6298]

How do you remove the runner from the cavity plate? 🤨

[@ShopBotix]

The runner for this part came off with the tool. The runner is then hand trimmed off the part. The sprue was sticking in the tool and we had to pull it out with plyers. So by running these tests we learned that we needed to increase the runner diameter so that they wouldn't break away from the spure. We also determined that the spure needed to have more draft and the tool wall at the spure needed to be polished as the printed tool has a bit of a texture or tooth that causes a higher amount of stiction. Making these changes allowed for the spure and runner to leave with the part on ejection.

[@megabedoya]

hello, i want to make chips for board games, is it possible to do it on this machine, do you know how much the machine can cost on average, the games are for a local micro enterprise in my country or city... thanks for your answer

[@ShopBotix]

All the details you need are here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/shopbotix/micromolder-fully-automatic-desktop-injection-molder?ref=user_menu The campaign is live thru December 27th. April or May of 2021 you can purchase them directly through out website. Links in the description.

[@raheemramdin786]

i would like to find out the price of the machine

[@ShopBotix]

Click the link in the description

[@jack24520]

Did you sand the molds down to be some what true flat?

[@ShopBotix]

Yes, post printing work typically needs to be done. We highlight our process for printed inserts here : www.micro-molder.com/post/user-guide-for-3d-printed-tooling-with-micromolder

[@jack24520]

@@ShopBotix Thanks for sharing!

[@masteradvisor594]

Which Material you used for making mold

[@ShopBotix]

We use FormLabs High Temp resin. It is very capable of handling the heat however it is very brittle and excess pressures can cause the tool to crack.

[@ShopBotix]

We use the Form2 printer and the Formlabs high temp resin for printed tooling. Thanks for the question.

[@paoloarellano5300]

@@ShopBotix which is the used machine to print this material?

[@ShopBotix]

@@paoloarellano5300 Form2 3D printer

[@TheLuk3HD]

Hi, which post work you did in the 3d printed molds after they finished to print?

[@ShopBotix]

No post processing is done.

[@vortexdefense2258]

will this work with aluminum tooling instead of the 3d printed tooling. Also when will the machines be available.

[@ShopBotix]

Yes the machine does work very well with aluminum tooling. We will have more videos to upload soon. In the meantime you can always check out our instagram stuff for more examples of aluminum tooling tests. go to @shopbotix on instagram.

[@ShopBotix]

Machines will be available soon. We have a mailing list on our landing page @ micro-molder.com . People on that list will be notified a week or two in advance prior to release. Thanks for the questions!

[@khanarif1354]

please send me your WhatsApp number I want buy this machine

[@khanarif1354]

ShopBotix I want buy this machine please send me your WhatsApp number

[@ShopBotix]

@@khanarif1354 We are not on WhatsApp. Sorry. You can go to our website and sign up to our email list. We will notify people on that list when it is available.

[@waqarsheikh321]

What's the material of insert/core and cavity?

[@ShopBotix]

3D printed SLA resin. We use Formlabs High Temp resin for most printed molds

[@khalidwa1]

Questions.... 1. When will it be available to purchase? 2. Can it run 24/7? 3. What is the cycle time? 4. Can you use HDPE? 5. What warranty will be offered?

[@ShopBotix]

1)Pricing is still not yet set. 2)TBD testing on this has not yet been done. At this point we don't have any test data indicating that it can not. However, the MM and MM+ are not intended to be production level machines. There are much better options on the market for that such as the BabyPlast. The MM line is intended for small runs in the 100's, prototyping and R&D. 3)Cycle time all depends on part geometry, plastic type, tool time, etc....unfortunately, there is no one answer to this as there are way too many variables. So, anywhere from seconds to minutes. 4)HDPE and most other plastics can be used with MM and MM+. 5)TBD. Most likely it will be a one-year limited warranty with extended warranty options available.

[@haddawayz6993]

Looks really good. What is the brandname of the machine ? Thanks a lot.

[@ShopBotix]

MicroMolder and MicroMolder+

[@mark3dprinters150]

How many parts can we print with 3d printed mold...?

[@ShopBotix]

You mean inject into a 3D printed mold? This all depends on the inner cavity geometry and the plastic that is being injected. Too many variables to give a specific number but between 1 and a few hundred.

[@carloschicaiza1704]

Cuanto me cuesta esta maquina y tiempo de entrega en new jersey

[@ShopBotix]

Follow the link www.micro-molder.com/faq

[@prashantparaye3696]

how you adjust cooling

[@ShopBotix]

The machine has an air inlet on the back. The air can be used for cooling or any other needs. Water cooling can be added by the user if needed using any type of pump and water chiller.

[@elgazzarmikasa1462]

How much the price and how do I get it

[@ShopBotix]

visit micro-molder.com

[@GabrielLuizgsilva]

How many samples do you get with this mold?

[@ShopBotix]

This tool produced over 100 parts before it failed. Output quantity is all dependent on the tool geometry design, print quality of the tool, plastic type injected, etc....

[@dmitriykonopinskiy3793]

Which material of the forms?

[@ShopBotix]

Tooling was make using Formlabs High Temp Resin for this printed tool insert.

[@dmitriykonopinskiy3793]

@@ShopBotix Is it possible to pour such a polymer into a transparent silicone mold and to make it hard with an ultraviolet lamp?

[@ShopBotix]

@@dmitriykonopinskiy3793 My guesses would be that the silicone might not be transparent enough to cure the resin. If the mold was perfectly clear it should let UV through. Sounds like a fun experiment/project! We have never tried something like this but it might work?

[@dumbcat]

i'm sorry but i don't understand your maximum shot size. can you please explain it to use in layman's terms providing a few real world examples? thank you. (please give this comment a thumbs up if you respond so i am notified)

[@ShopBotix]

Shot size is the maximum amount of plastic that can come out of the nozzle in one shot. The injection molding industry uses oz. A metric conversion would be 1 oz = 29.75cm^3. of space.

[@pablosalinas6058]

The price will publicated on your web page?

[@ShopBotix]

Pricing is still to be determined. And yes will be published on our web page. Testing is still on going and we will have a few more test videos uploaded soon.

[@บ้านป่าสตูดิโอ]

When to sell ? How much ?

[@ShopBotix]

The answers to your questions can be found in our FAQ section on our website.

[@walidsalah102]

How much

[@ShopBotix]

Yet to be determined. We will be releasing that info in the next month or so. The virus stuff has slowed down our initial release.

[@nguyenminhkhoi8539]

How much? I from vietnamese

[@ShopBotix]

Yet to be determined.

[@Duelaser]

Hello, great project. Do you have a contact?

[@ShopBotix]

You can message us through our contact link on this channel