
3D Printing Technology Into The Plastic Injection Mold
Schneider Electric focuses its strategy on technological innovations that reduce time-to-market. To this end, Schneider Electric uses Openlab in the heart of Grenoble to support new product development projects.
Referring to Frédérick Choupin of Schneider Electric: “Our goal is to use cutting-edge technology to shorten the product development cycle. With 3D printing and agile project management, we are able to overcome the obstacles in the traditional process and increase the marketing speed of innovative products by 60%. ”
With this in mind, Schneider Electric’s Openlab works with Prodways Technologies and Platinium 3D technology platforms to incorporate MOVINGLight technology into its electrical component development cycle to mold plastic injection molds in 3D. Finally, hundreds of parts are injected into the injection molding machine under manufacturing conditions to create parts that match the final shape and meet the certification prerequisites for the correct polymer.
“With 3D printing, we can produce mold prototypes in a few hours and modify them immediately according to the needs of functional tests, then inject the final material parts. These final material parts will be sent directly to the aluminum mold production. We also The new product development cycle has been greatly accelerated, and the final material components have been certified before the aluminum production mold is completed.”
Due to the high mechanical and heat resistance of Prodways’ 3D printing materials, Schneider Electric’s Openlab and Platinium 3D are filled with live and non-flammable polyamide parts. Polyamide with glass fiber is one of the most commonly used materials for technical parts that must be heat resistant; it is the standard in many industries and an indispensable prerequisite for certification.
3D printing is critical to the development of industrial products, so it is expected to play a key role in future business development. Through this collaboration, Schneider Electric’s Prodways Technologies, Openlab and Platinium 3D reaffirmed their central role as a pioneer in paving the way for industrial innovation in France.