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Personalized Mass Production by Hybridization of Additive Manufacturing and Injection Molding
Praveen Kannan Rajamani1, Tatyana Ageyeva1,2, József Gábor Kovács1,2
1Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3., H-1111 Budapest, Hungary.
Polymers
|January 22, 2021
Summary
Personalizing mass production involves combining additive manufacturing (AM) and injection molding. Local infill density and microstructures in AM parts significantly improve bonding strength for hybrid manufacturing.
Area of Science:
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Materials Science
- Industry 4.0
Background:
- Industry 4.0 trends emphasize mass production personalization.
- Combining additive manufacturing (AM) and injection molding offers a path to personalized mass production.
- AM provides design freedom but has slow production rates, while injection molding is fast but lacks customization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hybrid manufacturing combining AM and injection molding for personalized mass production.
- To enhance the bonding strength between additively manufactured baseplates and injection-molded components.
- To identify effective strategies for improving interfacial adhesion in hybrid parts.
Main Methods:
- 3D printing a baseplate using fused filament fabrication (FFF).
- Overmolding a rib element onto the FFF-printed baseplate using injection molding.
- Implementing and evaluating five strategies to improve bonding strength: surface roughness optimization, infill density, local infill density, microstructures, and fiber incorporation.
Main Results:
- Bonding strength between AM and injection-molded components was initially low.
- Local infill density and microstructures at the interface significantly increased bonding strength.
- These effective methods created porous structures that facilitated micro-mechanical interlocking with the injection-molded material.
Conclusions:
- Hybrid manufacturing combining AM and injection molding is a viable approach for personalized mass production.
- Local infill density and microstructures are key strategies for achieving robust interfaces in such hybrid parts.
- The improved bonding is attributed to enhanced mechanical interlocking facilitated by porous structures.
