Three Dimensional Printing is being applied to the direct fabrication of tooling using metal
powders. This paper presents progress updates in four areas: i) thermal management using
conformal cooling and related work on enhanced heat transfer using surface textures, ii) data on
dimensional control, iii) ) improvements in surface finish, and iv) harder tooling.
Conformal cooling has demonstrated significantly improved performance in a production part
geometry with simultaneous gains in production rate and part quality obtained as measured against
conventional tooling. Surface textures printed on cooling channels have demonstrated 8X
enhancement of heat transfer over smooth channels.
A set of 18 tooling inserts was fabricated using hardenable stainless steel powder with a
resultant tooling hardness of 25-30 Rockwell C. Harder alloy systems are being designed with the
aid of computational thermodynamic tools which allow accurate prediction of the interaction of
powder and binder. Significant improvements in surface finish were obtained using improved
printing technology. Dimensional control of tools conformed well to the expected result of being
dominated by control of shrinkage and being predictable to within ±.25%.Mechanical Engineerin
