3D Printed Conformal Cooling Channels: A Growing Trend in Die Casting Molds

With the continuous advancement of technology, 3D printing is gradually penetrating various industries. Especially in the field of mold manufacturing, it exhibits significant advantages. Among these, 3D printed conformal cooling channel technology has been widely used in injection molds and is accelerating its expansion into die casting molds.

3D Printed Conformal Cooling ChannelsARapidPrototype

While traditional subtractive processes such as CNC can manufacture straight cooling channels, they struggle to produce complex shapes like spiral conformal cooling channels. In contrast, thanks to its capability of forming complex structures in one piece, conformal cooling channels have been widely applied in injection molds. These channels effectively control mold temperature, improve product yield, shorten cooling time, enhance dimensional stability and surface finish, and promote ejection rhythm. They are widely used in industries such as 3C electronics, packaging, medical devices, automotive, and home appliances.

Metal 3D Printing MaterialsARapidPrototype

Due to the harsher working conditions and higher operating temperatures, die casting molds impose higher demands on 3D printing materials. Currently, the market mainly uses H13-like materials for die casting, such as DAC55, Dievar, and W350, but few materials fully meet the requirements of die casting molds. To address this challenge, Shanghai Yesu has developed the EM213 hot work tool steel powder after extensive research. This material performs exceptionally well in printability, toughness, thermal stability, thermal fatigue resistance, and thermal conductivity. Its impact toughness (ISO V) reaches 35, making it highly suitable for die casting molds. EM213 has been successfully applied in automotive manufacturing, aerospace, shipbuilding, electrical appliances, and other fields, significantly promoting the adoption of 3D printing technology in these industries.

Looking ahead, as the development of metal 3D printing materials accelerates and more high-performance new materials emerge, the application range of 3D printing technology will be further expanded. The adoption of efficient conformal cooling channels in die casting molds will become the industry standard, bringing revolutionary changes to die casting mold manufacturing.