Proceedings of the XMO Industrial Seminar 2026: Excellence in Manufacturing and Operations
Keywords
Low-cost tooling; 3D-printed tools; hybrid stamping die; composite stamping; sheet metal stamping
Tracks
CONVERGENT MANUFACTURING
DOI
10.5703/1288284318663
Abstract
Conventional sheet metal and composite stamping depends on machined steel dies that are expensive and slow to produce, limiting their practicality for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. This study presents a low-cost agile tooling (LCAT) strategy that integrates a 3D-printed polymer composite shell with a concrete core. Tool shells were fabricated using FDM method with polyamide 12 thermoplastic filament reinforced with 35 wt% chopped carbon fiber. The workflow included 3D printing, machining test coupons, mechanical characterization, constitutive model development, finite element simulation, and stamping trials. Results show that the new composite tool design offers better performance and lower cost than fully dense AM polymer tools. Tool longevity and part geometry depend heavily on the shell–backfill interface; strong bonding prevents shell buckling or bulging, which can cause tool failure and part wrinkling from uneven blank holding forces. This approach significantly reduces tooling lead time, cost, and environmental impact, offering a viable solution for prototyping, preproduction, and other small-batch manufacturing applications that demand rapid design iteration.
Low-Cost Agile Tooling for Stamping Metallic and Composite Sheets Using a Hybrid 3D-Printed Composite Shell and a Core
Conventional sheet metal and composite stamping depends on machined steel dies that are expensive and slow to produce, limiting their practicality for prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. This study presents a low-cost agile tooling (LCAT) strategy that integrates a 3D-printed polymer composite shell with a concrete core. Tool shells were fabricated using FDM method with polyamide 12 thermoplastic filament reinforced with 35 wt% chopped carbon fiber. The workflow included 3D printing, machining test coupons, mechanical characterization, constitutive model development, finite element simulation, and stamping trials. Results show that the new composite tool design offers better performance and lower cost than fully dense AM polymer tools. Tool longevity and part geometry depend heavily on the shell–backfill interface; strong bonding prevents shell buckling or bulging, which can cause tool failure and part wrinkling from uneven blank holding forces. This approach significantly reduces tooling lead time, cost, and environmental impact, offering a viable solution for prototyping, preproduction, and other small-batch manufacturing applications that demand rapid design iteration.