Break Out of the Traditional Mold Speed Up Production Using 3D Printing

What is Rapid Tooling?

Rapid Tooling and Somos® PerFORM

• Rapid tooling is any mold-making process that can create tools

quickly and with minimum direct labor.*

• Somos® PerFORM delivers real, injection-molded parts in 3 to 5 days.

This allows you to test your designs faster – and with parts

fabricated in your preferred material.

*Society of Manufacturing Engineers

What Rapid Tooling can do for you

• Produce real, injection-molded parts − not simulated parts − in 5

days or less.

• Shorten your qualification cycle.

• Save on tooling costs in

low-production volume runs

by avoiding electrical

discharge machining (EDM)

and computer numerical

control (CNC).

• License to think outside of

the box — or mold in this

case!

Compatible Plastics

Materials Parts

Produced

Polyethylene 200-300

Polypropylene 100-200

Thermoplastic

elastomers

50-100

ABS 50-100

Glass-filled nylon 30-50

Polycarbonate 20-30

More to come…

High performing

Performance Properties of

Somos® PerFORM

• Very rigid

• Smooth surfaces

• Modulus of 10 Gpa

• Heat distortion temperature

above 500°F (260°C)

Using SLA ensures a good combination of surface quality, accuracy, and part size.

Successes

This is an electrical switch gear mold made with Polyamide 6,

30% Glass Fiber. It produced 47 parts that were available for

use by the customer.

Going the Distance

https://www.wehl-partner.de/en/

Rapid Tooling Design Contest Winner

Rapid tooling successfully produced 50 finished back-plate mirror parts

made of ABS. These parts were used to test housing on glass actuators

and connectors.

In addition, the customer was able to run a second material (glass- filled

nylon) through the mold.

Contact Details: Brigitte-B.Jacobs@dsm.com

www.dsm.com/somos

Somos® PerFORM delivers real, injection-molded

parts in 3 to 5 days. This allows you to test your

designs faster – and with parts fabricated in your

preferred material.