Comparación del uso de la manufactura aditiva en la fabricación de moldes para inyección de silicona: tecnología FDM vs tecnología de resina

Abstract

The manufacture of molds for silicone injection is traditionally done in metallic materials or alloys, which allow obtaining high quality molds, but they are expensive, their manufacturing time is long and it is difficult to obtain figures with many details, so 3D printing is an alternative. The objective of the research was to compare FDM technology using PLA and PETg as materials, and SLA technology with standard resin, to evaluate their quality and cost-effectiveness in silicone injection. The methodology implemented had a qualitative and quantitative approach, where a microscopic analysis of the surface of the molds was performed to know which one has less irregularities; a thermogravimetric analysis to identify the mold material that presents greater resistance to temperature; a factorial ANOVA design, in the variation of the roughness and depth of the letters of each mold after the first, fifteenth and thirtieth injection; the economic feasibility and manufacturing times were compared with respect to each of the 3D printed molds and with respect to the traditional metal molds. It was identified that the SLA technology mold has less irregularities on its surface; the material that resists higher temperature is PETg; with the ANOVA analysis it was observed that the 3D printing technology does influence the roughness of the molds, while the depth of the letter does not; in the time and manufacturing costs of the molds, it is more profitable to make 3D printed molds, being the most economical the PLA mold and the fastest the standard resin mold. In this context, it is concluded that FDM technology with PETg material, is the mold with the best quality and cost-effectiveness for silicone injection.