3d Printed Sheet Metal Dies

Sheet metal fabrication xometry offers punching laser cutting waterjet cutting stamping and bending sheet metal services.

3d printed sheet metal dies.

While traditional methods of manufacturing remove material from a piece of stock metal metal 3d printing builds parts from the ground up allowing for the production of parts with very complex geometries. The maximum load applicable to 3d printed punches and dies is about 10 20 tons per meter depending on the shape of the tools and the material used. 3dexperience marketplace make is an online on demand manufacturing platform operated by dassault systèmes. 3d printing with the projet 3500 and visijet materials allows for robust die molds to be created within hours and are usable within the same day of being created with no additional post processing required.

We ve seen several people create custom dies for their brakes and the results have shown the concept has merit for. Follow the design guidelines below to take full advantage of fdm for sheet metal tooling. This is therefore not a limiting factor as they are mainly used for thinner workpieces. Design guidelines for fdm sheet metal tools.

March 10 2020 using 3d printed forms to bend sheet metal isn t exactly new. Centerline hasn t yet put this tooling to the test in terms of longevity but vickery is confident that 3d printed press brake tooling can support several hundred or perhaps several. Creating the die molds is a critical part to the process and traditionally takes days or weeks to be cnc milled to specifications. It connects the industrial ecosystem of designers engineers buyers and production planners with industrial manufacturing service providers such as proto labs xometry sculpteo and 3d systems and fit manufacturing a lot more so you can be confident to find the best partner based on.

The tool wasn t used to cut the metal. It is therefore possible to bend sheets with a thickness of up to 1 2 mm. See the 3d printed punch and die in use in the first operation shown in the video below the remaining work is performed using conventional metal tooling. The punch and die set were strong enough to form 14 gauge sheet steel in a press brake which is pretty impressive.