Conformal Cooling – Killing The Tooling Time Killer

Conformal Cooling: Mould Faster

Toolmakers across the globe work tirelessly to figure out a way to produce the maximum number of parts in the minimum time possible.  Cooling channels are designed in such a way that it conventional machining processes can only manufacture them. Such channels are unable to dissipate heat faster to reduce the cooling time. To tackle this issue we present to you conformal cooling.

Conformal cooling is an advanced technique possible only through additive manufacturing processes which involve designing of cooling channels in such a way that it adheres to the part geometry. There are a large number of advantages including increased heat dissipation, lowering the cooling time. Once the cooling time is lower more parts can be ejected thereby more profits. Another striking advantage is the increase in the tool life.

In the design stage, there are certain challenges that designers face and some of them have been solved by Objectify technologies with great ease. Let us take for example a fan model provided by one of our clients and we’ll show that using our experience in conformal cooling channel designs we were able to reduce the cooling time for the customer.  The existing cooling time of the customer’s model was around 33 seconds. Our expert designers designed cooling channels inside the part and reduced the cooling to 10 seconds. Conformal cooling has revolutionized design thinking and using AM it has made designing such intricate designs a cakewalk.

Various injection molding companies have benefitted from this technology. Let us take for example the RO(Reverse Osmosis) project that we worked on. Each industry wants to produce more parts and that will require faster ejection times and an increase in the heat dissipation rate. We designed a hybrid part over the CNC machined part supplied by the customer. Cooling channels of diameter 6mm were introduced on the top portion where the parts were to be formed.

The cooling time was reduced from 105 seconds to 77 seconds. The cooling channels in this case reduced the cooling time to 77 seconds from 105 seconds. We have found that conformal cooling increases the profit improvement for injection molding companies from (20-40)%. As more parts are ejected and there is a significant improvement in the profits for them.

A profit improvement of over 41% can be clearly seen due to a 30% conformal reduction. This table highlights the reason why injection molding companies should go for this technology over traditional cooling. This table will increase the confidence of an injection molding company to adopt this technology.

Design Parameters:

These are some of the design parameters that are followed to design these cooling channels. Adhering to this table is essential to design channels for conformal cooling. However, the design skillset essential to design a channel inside the part is a different skill in itself. Therefore it is essential to be aware of the CAD modeling software for the development of such channels.

Awareness of the various alloys that are available for 3D printing is also essential. The table below will show the various alloys that can be printed for the tooling industry and the various mechanical properties of the alloys.

Our passion for technology and our commitment to Industry 4.0 enable us to create awareness about technologies like conformal cooling. Therefore during our journey, we’ve created immense awareness and this had allowed companies in India to exploit this technology and grow their business even better. Lets us show you some of the most interesting projects that we’ve worked on.

The above examples clearly show the advantages of conformal cooling. Hybrid prints are also the future of AM allowing the development of 3D printed parts on top of conventionally machined components. we have developed a large number of such hybrid prints for various injection molding companies.

Conformal cooling aims to revolutionize the tooling sector. A lot of companies in India have begun exploring the possibilities and have been successful in implementing such optimized parts.