FORWERKZEUG

BAVARIAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION FLEXIBLE TOOLS

B1: Technology Integration for Manufacturing Serial Tools by means of Metal Foil LOM

The standards for manufacturing tools have changed significantly in the last ten years. This applies especially to tool design and construction for deep drawing and injection molding. Some reasons are the application of new materials and production technologies, the introduction of platform concepts in the automotive industry or increasing endeavors in lightweight construction. In combination with the global competition, shortened product lifecycles, reduced lot sizes and growing variant diversity, these changes lead to new demands on tool manufacturers. It often happens that basic and cost-effective tools with reduced lifetime are needed within a short period. In the context of this research project, the combination of selective Rapid Tooling technologies is examined for a demand-adapted production of serial tools. Due to their ideally complementary properties, the following processes are investigated: NC milling, blank sheet LOM and metal foil LOM, which has been newly developed by the Bavarian Laser Centre (BLZ) in cooperation with the Chair of Manufacturing Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and the company TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG. The main focus of the activities is the integration of the metal foil LOM technology into the tool production. The ability to produce of geometries by means of metal foil LOM is therefore examined and the resulting workpiece properties are determined. Another aim is the process combination of NC milling, blank sheet LOM and metal foil LOM for the production of segmented, cost-effective tools.