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4D
CONCEPTS FOR HEKATRON
 Just
Three Weeks Left Before Going to Volume Production
Rapid tooling with selective laser sintering of steel
Manufacturers of plastic parts and components have become very cautious. Before
they venture into volume production, they usually want to test the market first.
This, in turn, makes the toolmakers nervous, because the small batches needed
for probing the
market are expected to be made at short notice and at a reasonable price. Like
no other method, 3D Systems’selective laser sintering (SLS™) process
helps to meet tight deadlines.
Steel tools for large volume series are an expensive business. Costly precision
alloys, expensive machining, and even finishing - these things have their price
if the quality is to be right. This is why makers of injection-moulded parts
take no risks.
To safeguard their investments and settle the question of how the product will
be accepted by the potential buyers, they first "try out" the market
with one or another smaller series. Of course, production of these series must
be as inexpensive as possible and must be available more or less overnight.
To meet these requirements, toolmakers increasingly rely on modern forming
methods such as selective laser sintering of steel using the Vanguard HS SLS
system by 3D Systems.
Speedy series
Take the Sulzburg, (Germany), -based company Hekatron, makers of safety systems
and OEM supplier for a string of renowned firms. The company developed a 220-volt
socket for a smoke alarm and needed a couple thousand units for initial sampling
and market probes. So far, so good.
But the real challenge turned out to be the plastic casing (90 mm diameter)
and its intricate interiors with many openings, contra-rotating cores, thin-walled
ribs - in short, a component
with a highly complex geometry that needed to be made within the shortest possible
time.
The "lucky" people who got the job was 4D Concepts in Gross-Gerau,
(Germany), who tackled it without batting an eye. The reason was simple: 4D
Concepts, a medium-sized toolmaker and rapid tooling specialist located in
Hesse, (Germany), uses a Vanguard HS SLS system with LaserForm steel material,
allowing them to make even the most complicated and
difficult tool geometry within a few weeks and at competitive terms. And ince
the company's range of services also covers the whole process chain from design
via rapid prototyping and pattern making through to series production, they
were also capable of delivering the finished injection-moulded parts.
40 percent cost savings
Just three weeks after receiving the 3-D CAD data (IGES) from Hekatron's
development department, 4D Concepts delivered the first injection moulded components
- almost in record
time! Using SolidWorks software, the provider first delivered the mould design
drawn from the original data and then used their 3D Systems SLS system to make
both mould halves in the dimensions 120 x 120 x 120 millimetres. The actual
build time was less than 24 hours.
Unlike 3D Systems’ stereolithography process (both additive layer technologies
have their origin in rapid prototyping), selective laser sintering is a powder-based
process. The Vanguard HS SLS system builds up the required geometry layer by
layer using a CO2 laser with the LaserForm ST-200 steel powder. The second
step of the process involves infiltrating the sintered inserts with bronze
to obtain a dense mould.
Rainer Neumann, 4D Concepts' CEO, proudly presented the results: "We have
meanwhile gone well beyond the required unit quantity of 5000. And we expect
the sintered injection moulding tool to give us almost three times that quantity
without any signs of wear and tear."
  When
compared directly with a conventionally made solid steel mould, the costs were
lower by a staggering 40 percent. The benefits of this method are particularly
evident when it comes to geometries requiring a great deal of erosion.
Modern alternative
For toolmakers such as 4D Concepts, selective laser sintering of steel (and
other metals) is an extremely attractive tooling method. Highly automated,
the systems operate rapidly and without supervision. The build envelope is
381 x 330 x 457 millimetres (W x D x H), big
enough not only to make moulds or mould inserts, but also prototypes or fully
functioning small batch series. Depending on the project, 3D Systems offers
different specifications for its Vanguard SLS systems, allowing not only metal
materials to be processed, but also thermoplastics or composites. "The
adaptability of the system allows a full service provider like us to use the
system to capacity", adds Neumann.
Hekatron demonstrates impressively that this modern forming method is suitable
even for the most complex moulds and tools. It provides toolmakers with a technological
advantage to their traditional machining methods, allowing them to modify design
even more quickly and to make changes at competitive prices. This gives them
the edge in relation to their customers who will see them as flexible and competent
partners, capable of making pilot series, small batch, and large volume series
at attractive prices.
3D Systems
Established in 1986 and present on the international stage as pioneers
and market leaders in solid imaging systems, 3D Systems' processes allow users
to produce physical patterns from digital, 3-D designs within the shortest
possible time. The process also allows small series to be made directly on
their systems. Larger quantities are made with rapid tooling processes. The
process accelerates the time-to-market for new products and drastically
reduces development costs. 3D Systems product range includes the patented stereolithography
process (SLA® systems),
selective laser sintering process (SLS systems), the InVision™ and ThermoJet® 3-D
printers, and Accura® materials
line (including photopolymers, metals, nylons, engineering plastics, and thermoplastics).
4D Concepts
4D Concepts is a medium-sized company headquartered in Gross-Gerau, (Germany).
In 2003 it generated sales totalling 5.2 million Euro and currently employs
38 full-time employees. The company was established in 1995 by their founders,
managing partner Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Neumann (38) and Dipl.-Ing. Frank Bierbichler
(41).
The innovative company has meanwhile developed into a leading all-around provider
for product development. Business activities include both services in conventional
pattern making and toolmaking, and in rapid tooling and 3-D CAD, including
sales of systems and software.
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