Feasibility Study of Soft Tooling Inserts for Injection Molding with Integrated Automated Slides

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Traditional injection molding tooling (steel) is expensive and slow for prototypes.
• Additive manufactured soft tooling offers faster, cheaper prototyping but struggles with complex geometries like undercuts.
• Integrating automated slides into soft tooling for complex parts is an unexplored area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and test additively manufactured soft tooling with integrated automated slides for producing complex molded interconnect device (MID) prototypes.
• To address challenges in soft tooling design, including component alignment and sealing of complex parting planes.
• To evaluate the performance and durability of the developed soft tooling system.

Main Methods:

• Soft tooling was additively manufactured using digital light processing with a silica-filled photopolymer.
• The soft tooling incorporated novel automated slide mechanisms to handle complex part features.
• Injection molding trials were conducted using a laser-direct structurable glass fiber-filled PET+PBT material.

Main Results:

• Ten functional complex MID prototypes were successfully injection molded.
• The integrated automated slides and mold sealing features performed as intended.
• The soft tooling showed initial signs of damage after producing 10 parts, indicating a need for durability improvements.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using additively manufactured soft tooling with integrated automated slides for complex prototypes.
• The design approach is transferable to other complex part geometries, offering a viable alternative for low-volume production.
• Further research is recommended to enhance the durability and lifespan of the soft tooling for broader industrial application.