3D Printed Sacrificial Tooling —Washes Out with Water
ExOne's unique Washout Tooling solution streamlines the production of aircraft ducting, pressure tanks, struts, mandrels and other hollow tools and objects. The process is simple: We 3D print the tool core in silica or ceramic sand, and coat it with a proprietary material that remains water soluble to high temperatures. Then, composite layup is completed as normal. After autoclaving, the entire tool is simply washed away with water, and the sand is reclaimed for reuse.
Fast, Easy and Sustainable Tooling 3D Printed in Sand
WASHOUT TOOLING BROCHURE
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Eliminate the expense, lead time and manufacturing challenges associated with production of composite parts with trapped geometries. Washout Tooling from ExOne is an easy and sustainable process for creating a sacrificial core to produce hollow objects in composite materials.
Our industrial sand 3D printers can create large and complex support cores in silica or ceramic sand with a binder that remains water soluble up to 180° Celsius or 356° Fahrenheit. The 3D printed sand tool is then coated with a proprietary water-soluble spray or Teflon® tape to prevent resin migration during standard composite layup processes for filament winding or woven fabric.
After autoclaving, the soluble support material can simply be washed out with tap water.
ExOne's 3D printed washout tooling is faster and more affordable than traditional methods of sacrificial tool manufacturing, such as plaster, bladder molding, and multi-piece breakdown. And unlike other 3D printing methods such as FDM, ExOne's solution does not require chemicals to break down the tool. Because sand cores can be printed quickly with complex designs, and washed out with water, the whole process is faster and more streamlined.
What's more, the coefficient of thermal expansion for our sand media is isotropic and controllable with the type of sand selected, minimizing distortion and other challenges during autoclaving, as described in this Manufacturing Engineering article. ExOne's new 3D printed tooling solution opens the door to new design possibilities, such as longer mandrels and integrated metallic hardware.
Contact us to order a sample of our washout tooling or discuss 3D printed cores for your project.
3D Print. Coat. Layup. Rinse & Repeat.
ExOne 3D prints your tool in sand, and coats it in a proprietary material. You lay up carbon- or glass-fiber parts on the tool as normal, autoclaving up to temperatures of 180° Celsius or 356° Fahrenheit. When complete, the sand tool washes away with tap water. Sand can be reclaimed for reuse.
Let ExOne 3D Print Your Washout Tooling
Our high-quality service is fast and affordable.
request a quote
Let ExOne 3D Print Your Washout Tooling
Our high-quality service is fast and affordable.
request a quote