Laser DED additive manufacturing: Large rotational moulding mould (tooling)

The aim is to manufacture very large rotational moulding moulds (up to 3 m high and 3 m in diameter) with complex geometries that are difficult to produce using conventional processes. The main challenge is to drastically reduce manufacturing lead times while guaranteeing geometric accuracy on XXL parts that are prone to distortion.

Manufacturing is carried out using wire-fed laser DED following a sub-assembly strategy, with the sub-assemblies then joined to form the final mould. Numerical simulation dedicated to large structures is integrated to anticipate distortion, while the process parameters are optimised to ensure manufacturing stability and surface finish quality.

Success depends on the ability to anticipate and compensate for distortion on very large parts, while maintaining a stable process over long cycles. Machine constraints and final assembly must be controlled without geometric drift, despite the complexity and scale of the components.

A complete mould was produced in three fully controlled sub-assemblies ready for assembly. Integrating manufacturing constraints from the design stage results in a compliant part, with production lead time reduced to less than one month for XXL tooling.