Cost-effective and custom-made components thanks to 3D printed injection moulding tools

Injection moulds are mostly made of steel and only pay for themselves in the case of larger component quantities. igus® offers an alternative technology using 3D printed injection moulding tools, which save up to 80% of your costs. Produce your individual parts made of high-performance plastics quickly and economically, even in small quantities. You can freely choose between any of the 50 existing iglidur® materials, whether it be a high temperature or heavy duty application.

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Make your custom-made component using the 3D printing service

Benefits of 3D printed injection moulding tools

By 3D printing of injection moulding tools, igus® is able to quickly and cost-effectively provide maintenance-free plastic plain bearings and other wear parts with the desired shape and material. For simple shapes, the special part is ready to ship from 4 days. Depending on the chosen iglidur® material, the appropriate 3D printing process and injection mould material are selected so that the tool can be produced quickly and can be used directly in our injection moulding machines. Due to their special material properties, the selected mould materials withstand the high temperatures of the injection moulding process so that up to 500 parts can be produced from one 3D print mould.

3D printed injection moulding tool with plain bearing

Why 3D printed tools?

Injection moulding machines in igus® factory

Injection moulding machines in the igus® factory

With the aid of 3D printing, injection moulds can be manufactured at up to 80% lower costs. As a result, 3D printed moulds are particularly interesting for small batches and samples, and can be commissioned for a quantity of 1 or more. The complete iglidur® range of 50 materials is available for the maintenance-free plastic plain bearings manufactured in this way, from which the suitable one is selected for your application (e.g. iglidur® G - the all-rounder, iglidur® X) for a continuous application temperature of up to 250°C, and much more).

When are 3D printed injection moulds particularly worthwhile compared to direct 3D printing?

If pre-production parts are to be manufactured effectively and at a low cost from the original material, 3D printed injection moulds are very well suited since the material properties of the parts made from the 3D print mould and the later volume parts from a conventional serial mould are very similar. Even though plain bearing materials must have special properties (e.g., conductivity, underwater use, KTW conformity, high temperature, etc.) and cannot be processed in the 3D printer, 3D printed injection moulds are the right choice.

Custom-made plain bearings

Are there any cases where direct 3D printing is more suitable?

3D printer prints special shapes with igus® filaments

For example, if the delivery must be extremely fast - 24h up to a maximum of 3 days. In addition, the more complex the component, the more beneficial it is to make the components directly in 3D printing. Due to the tool-less manufacturing, complexity does not cause any additional costs. For small parts under 5g, no matter whether complex or simple, 3D printing can be the most cost-effective method - even with quantities up in the four-digit range. For 3D printing, you can use the igus® 3D printing service to order your custom-made special parts online and fast. iglidur® high-performance plastics are also available as filaments for the 3D printing and are particularly suitable for moving applications due to their high abrasion resistance and very good coefficients of friction.