PROOF OF CONCEPT: LARGE-VOLUME THERMOFORMING TOOL FOR AEROSPACE

Objective:

To produce a large-scale thermoforming mold using additive manufacturing for an Aerospace part.

Background:

Production of Aerospace parts often requires multiple tooling processes, bonding, as well as finishing applications. The initial additive manufactured part needed to be produced with high precision to achieve the final desired tool. ACS Hybrid Inc. used their Massivit 1800 Pro in collaboration with 3D Composites for this proof of concept. ACS Hybrid Inc. are experts in producing large molds for thermoforming for the Aerospace industry. 3D Composites have over 30 years’ experience designing and producing parts for the Aerospace industry using additive manufacturing.

Solution:

To minimize post processing time, the mold was 3D printed on the Massivit 3D printer's highest resolution and took just 16 hours to print.

Results:

The additive manufactured mold withstood approximately 50 pulls of 0.063” Kydex (ABS) sheets without showing any major signs of deterioration. Additionally, the mold was produced with less parts, less waste, and at a lower cost than producing it with traditional subtractive methods.