Design and Implementation of Rapid Tooling for Injection Modling

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The Applied Research and Development Grant (i.e. Level 2 ARD), awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering research Council (NSERC) will support the applied research partnership between Camosun College and Scott Plastics Ltd., a local plastic injection-molding manufacturer located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This new College-Industry partnership will result in a new production technique that will allow Scott Plastics to provide small production-run and prototype injection-molded components using rapid tooling. Rapid tooling uses Stereolithography (SLA) rapid prototyping (or 3-D printing) to create molds suitable for cost effective small runs (50-1000 pieces) of injection molded parts. Rapid tooling however presents some challenges. Unlike traditional molds, rapid prototyped molds are non-metallic and present non-ideal thermal and mechanical properties. This project is designed to examine the thermal and mechanical properties of the molds with the goal of developing procedures for their use in injection molding. The results of the project will enable Scott Plastics to attract a new market, one that until now has only been served outside the region, usually in Asia.