Printing Autoclave Tooling with KraussMaffei

Industry: Tooling
Partnership: KraussMaffei hardware, Aibuild software

Traditionally this autoclave tool would have been CNC machined from metal, a resource intensive process with most of the material investment ending up as scrap. Large format additive manufacturing has promised to reduce the manufacturing strain for autoclavable tooling production with advancements in material, hardware and software. However, LFAM comes with its own challenges such as managing layer temperatures, quality and warping during printing.

By collaborating with our hardware partners KraussMaffei we explored how the right LFAM investment can bring real results for tooling companies.

The issue of thermal management during printing was handled by Aibuild Thermal Analysis tool. By simulating the expected build temperatures the software can detect if and where a part will fail, to resolve this the print speed is automatically adjusted for each layer, maintaining a layer interpass goldilocks zone and minimising thermal runaway.

Printing in PEI posed a risk of warping and lifting. To mitigate this, continuous extrusion was required. This was achieved by spiralizing the toolpath and brim, allowing the part to be produced with a single continuous extrusion. This eliminated unnecessary starts and stops, ensuring the highest quality print while reducing porosity

To increase end part strength and reduce inter-bead porosity after milling, staggered layers were deployed with the Aibuild Mould Designer. This tool generates a new mould geometry in seconds, eliminating the manual tooling CAD design phase and allowing engineers to be more time efficient. With Staggered Walls, Aibuild software can automatically adjust the vertical offset of the walls, staggering them to fill in any problematic gaps that could compromise the mould’s usability or demand extra post processing.

By integrating advanced thermal management, continuous extrusion, and staggered layering, we have demonstrated how LFAM can overcome its traditional challenges to produce high quality, durable autoclavable tooling. This collaboration between KraussMaffei and Aibuild has paved the way for a more sustainable and scalable approach to tooling production.