9420964 Aubin This award provides funding for the development of a proprietary Solid Freeform Fabrication Technology called 3 Dimensional Printing (3DP), which will be used for a variety of injection mold tooling applications. Three Dimensional Printing creates tooling inserts, mold, and/or component parts directly from a computer model in an additive layer-by-layer process. Each layer is created by spreading a powder and selectively joining the powder by ink-jet printing of a liquid binder material. Within this program, mold inserts will be produced in two ways: 1) by direct printing powder metal or metal/ceramic, and 2) by printing ceramic molds into which tool steel is cast. The 3DP process could result in significant cost reduction in injection mold tooling applications. The technology would have application in many manufacturing processes.
