Wohlers Report 2003

Rapid Prototyping, Tooling & Manufacturing State of the Industry

3D Keltool

3D Keltool is a powder metal process used to make injection-mold inserts and other durable tooling from master patterns. Keltool was originally developed by 3M in 1976 and was sold and further developed by Keltool Inc. In 1996, 3D Systems purchased the technology from Keltool Inc. and renamed it 3D Keltool. 3D Systems continued to develop and improve the process. It is proprietary, so many of the details of 3D Keltool are not publicly known. With the addition of the Selective Laser Sintering business, OptoForm, and RPC Ltd., 3D Systems has its hands full. This has become especially apparent when asking the company about its 3D Keltool tooling technology. One might wonder whether its still on the companys radar screen. The 3D Keltool process typically starts with a CAD design of the core and cavity, followed by creation of the core and cavity patterns with stereolithography or some other rapid prototyping process. Once these core and cavity patterns have been finished to the desired surface, silicone rubber is cast against them to create molds into which a mixture of metal powder and binder is poured, packed, and cured. The metal mixture is finely powdered A6 tool steel and even finer particles of tungsten carbide. At this point, the cast core and cavity inserts exist in a green state. These green inserts are fired in a hydrogen-reduction furnace to burn away the binder, sinter the metal particles, and infiltrate copper into the inserts. This produces solid metal inserts that are approximately 70% steel and 30% copper, with physical properties similar to that of P20 tool steel. These properties allow the inserts to withstand molding pressures of 138 to 172 MPa (20,000 to 25,000 psi). The inserts are finishmachined, drilled for ejector pins, and fitted into mold bases. 3D Keltool offers excellent detail reproducibility and can replicate features as small as 0.04 mm (0.0016 inch). The process is accurate to within 0.2%, with an additional 0.1% on the first 25 mm (1 inch). Flatness of the process is 0.025 mm per 25 mm (0.001 inch per inch). These numbers represent the dimensions on all 3D Keltool mold inserts produced in 3D Systems labs over a 2.5-year period. Since 3D Keltool is a pattern-based approach, accuracy of the pattern is critical. The accuracy numbers stated above do not include any inaccuracy in the pattern. A pattern created on an SLA 3500 system, for example, using 0.05 mm (0.002 inch) layers, is accurate to within 0.05 mm (0.002 inch) across the entire part, according to Bob Morton of Fusion Engineering. Fusion is a former 3D Keltool licensee that used the SLA 3500 system with the process. 3D Systems quotes an accuracy of 0.05 mm per 25 mm (0.002 inch per inch) for its SLA machines. The process creates a surface finish that is similar to that of the pattern used to produce the insert. 3D Systems said that it offers a surface finish of SPE 3 (40 microinch) out of the furnace. The 3D Keltool mold inserts can be polished to produce a surface finish of SPE 2 (20 microinch). Note that SPE 1 is optical grade.

COPYRIGHT 2003

WOHLERS ASSOCIATES, INC.

Wohlers Report 2003

Rapid Prototyping, Tooling & Manufacturing State of the Industry

Many companies have used 3D Keltool inserts to injection mold hundreds of thousands of parts. More than one company has molded in excess of one million parts from a single mold created with 3D Keltool inserts. There are currently many Keltool molds in service worldwide, and some have been running for more than a decade. Thousands of molds have been produced since mid-1996. 3D Keltool molds can withstand molding temperatures greater than 650C (1200F). The inserts have been used to die cast zinc, which melts at 367C (693F), and aluminum, which melts at 501C (934F). One mold produced over 200,000 die cast parts in zinc. Size is a limitation of the 3D Keltool process. The maximum size of a mold insert is 150 x 215 x 100 mm (5.9 x 8.5 x 4 inches). The length in the zdirection can extend to 145 mm (5.75 inches) when the x and/or y dimensions are shorter. Some toolmakers have press fit two or more inserts side-by-side, in a mold base, to create larger tools. 3D Keltool also has a limitation of thin standing geometry. Since the material is very weak in its green state, these types of geometries are often broken when demolding from the RTV rubber. The time needed to produce 3D Keltool inserts using 3Ds established one step furnace process, depending on complexity, is approximately 40 hours. This means that a user can now produce unfinished mold inserts in about six days. A complete mold (mold base, runners, water lines, ejection system, etc.) can take three to five weeks to produce, depending on the molds complexity. 3D Systems is licensing the process directly to companies that want to create 3D Keltool mold inserts at their own facilities. The company has licensed the technology to three companies in Germany, two in Italy, two in Hong Kong, and one each in the U.S. and France. The 3D Keltool license consists of a technology transfer and the first year license fee of $172,500. The following four years require a $57,500 payment each year. After five years, the license fee is fully paid, and the customer owns the right to use the process indefinitely. The license agreement is limited to a single site, not granting the rights to company-wide use. Other costs include a hydrogen-reduction furnace at approximately $70,000, auxiliary equipment costing about $80,000, and facility improvements, which could cost $50,000, depending on the licensees requirements. Consider 3D Keltool for durable steel tooling of complex shapes that would make the conventional EDM tooling process time-consuming and expensive.

COPYRIGHT 2003

WOHLERS ASSOCIATES, INC.