How Does Rapid Tooling With 3D Printing Work | Process, Applications, Examples & More

In this video, we'll cover the fundamentals of what is rapid tooling, how rapid tooling with 3D printing works, its applications, and how 3D printing can help you develop tooling to scale low to medium production. Learn more about rapid tooling: https://bit.ly/3tsMVEv Most traditional manufacturing processes require custom tooling to create end-use parts. However, conventional tooling usually comes with high upfront costs and very long lead times from service providers, slowing down product development, so getting a product to market takes longer. With in-house rapid tooling such as 3D printed molds, patterns, and dies in the product development process, the business is empowered to validate the design and material choice with functional prototypes before transitioning to mass production and provides an affordable means to produce custom or limited series of end-use parts. A great choice to produce 3D printing rapid tooling is stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing. Molds, patterns, or dies made with an SLA 3D printer are accurate and have a smooth surface finish. This is an example of a rapid tooling workflow with 3D printing on a Formlabs SLA 3D printer: First, design the tool in CAD. Then, choose the right resin and 3D-print the part on a Formlabs SLA 3D printer. Next, insert the 3D printed rapid tool in your machine and use it in your normal workflow. Finally, post-process the end part as needed. Rapid tooling can be used to produce plastics, silicone or rubber parts, composites, or metal parts using a wide range of manufacturing processes, such as injection molding, overmolding, compression molding, thermoforming, casting, or sheet metal forming. Real-life applications by various companies are shown in the video from Multiplus, Braskem, HoliMaker, Glassboard, LUSH, RightHand Robotics, and OXO. 0:00 What Is Rapid Tooling? 0:51 How Rapid Tooling with 3D Printing Works 1:57 Rapid Tooling Applications with 3D Printing 2:26 Rapid Tooling Examples with 3D Printing #RapidTooling #Formlabs #3DPrinting ▬ Learn More ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Guide to Rapid Tooling: https://bit.ly/3tsMVEv Learn More About Rapid Tooling 3D Printing Applications: https://bit.ly/3qmMaKY ▬ Socials & Links ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe for more 3D printing videos ► https://www.youtube.com/user/formlabs1?sub_confirmation=1 Careers ► https://bit.ly/3gBEb81 Formlabs ► https://bit.ly/3NgD0Jd YouTube ► https://bit.ly/39tiZ3f Facebook ► https://bit.ly/3lkuXio Twitter ► https://bit.ly/3yBQgUG Instagram ► https://bit.ly/3wk9egQ LinkedIn ► https://bit.ly/39pDLB0 ▬ About Formlabs ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Formlabs is expanding access to digital fabrication, so anyone can make anything. Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts with offices in North Carolina, Germany, Hungary, Japan, China, and Singapore, Formlabs is the professional 3D printer of choice for engineers, designers, manufacturers, and decision-makers around the globe. Through a continuous commitment to innovation, Formlabs has become the largest supplier of professional stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers in the world. Formlabs also develops its own suite of high-performance 3D printing materials that continue to expand the range of applications of additive manufacturing, as well as best-in-class 3D printing software, post-processing tools, and automation solutions.