Development of sheet metal forming dies with excellent mechanical properties using additive manufacturing and rapid tooling technologies

Cost and time are two major concerns that are needed to manufacture new sheet metal forming dies in the industry. A cost-effective approach for rapid production of sheet metal forming dies with excellent wear resistance and mechanical properties was developed using additive manufacturing and rapid tooling technologies. This paper deals with the effect of zirconia (ZrO2) addition on the mechanical properties of sheet metal forming dies. Sheet metal forming experiments confirmed that the sheet metal forming dies fabricated by epoxy resin filled with 30 wt% ZrO2 particles have the low corner wear. The sheet metal dies can be fabricated within 2 days to meet the requirements of reducing the development time in the research and development stage for a new product.