A German additive manufacturing company has partnered with a Swiss mold and die specialist in an effort to integrate additive manufacturing machines into the production of mold inserts. The two companies hope to better automate the process for mold-makers.
EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, Krailling, Germany, offers systems, software, materials and technical services for 3-D printing, while GF Machining Solutions Management SA, Geneva, provides machine tools, automation solutions and customer service for the production of molds and dies.
The partnership anticipates that additive technology would give mold-makers the ability to produce metal inserts with close-to-the-surface cooling, which would shorten the mold cooling sequence and plastic injection cycle times.
"The cooperation allows us to increase the value for customers by integrating conventional and additive technologies," says EOS founder and CEO Hans J. Langer. "This is a large step towards seamless production, and we join forces with a strong and experienced partner."
