Alpine Advanced Materials Licenses Addifab Freeform Technology

Alpine Advanced Materials (Dallas) has introduced Rapid Prototype Molding (RPM) using Addifab’s proprietary resin system and Nexa3D’s printers. The company says this will give clients a rapid tool manufacturing option resulting in functional and testable parts. Complementing Alpine’s suite of engineered materials and design services, Alpine says RPM Freeform Injection Molding delivers complex injection molded parts more quickly and affordably than when using standard steel molds.

In a release, Alpine CEO David Brantner said his customers’ parts often must meet various certifications, including UL, FAA and MIL-spec, requiring a ‘real’ molded part for testing. “Think of companies bidding for military or aerospace contracts,” Brantner said, “it’s powerful to have data that backs up whether your components actually work.”

Filling the gap between a 3D printed part, which can get a client close in shape but is limited by mechanical performance, and an injection molded part, which provides form and function but requires investment in tooling, RPM delivers production-level components at a relatively low cost ideal for low-volume testing. With the Freeform process, complex mold inserts are printed, allowing designers to inject resin in a standard injection molding process and then dissolve away the cavity insert afterwards to reveal the molded part.

In addition, with separable components, RPM allows for two-part tools that can be used repeatedly for low volumes that also convey both form and function equivalent to that of a standard steel tool.