Let’s look at how binder jetting metal 3D printing changes the shoe mold industry

As one of the traditional manufacturing industries, shoe mold manufacturing involves design, wood mold manufacturing, casting, mold making,

Shoe mold manufacturing as one of the traditional processing industries, its complete processes include design, wood mold manufacturing, casting, mold making, mold texture treatment, sandblasting, electroplating/spraying teflon protective processing, and etc.

The whole process is very intricate with long period and high cost, requiring a lot of labor, as well as meeting the strict requirements of green environmental protection.

In the fashion industry, the upgrading of shoes plays a vital role in occupying the market. The application of 3d printing greatly simplifies the production process, improving the efficiency and the speed of product upgrading.

At present, SLA, SLM and BJ are mainly used in shoe mold printing.

The SLA suppliers are using stereolithography instead of traditional wood processing. After several years of continuous iteration of technology, they have achieved good results in the shoe mold industry, especially the cost advantage and the effect of finer surface texture. But even so, there is still a need for casting to complete all the processes.

SLM and BJ technology eliminates the need for wood pattern, casting and mold textured treatment, achieving faster product delivery, a more three-dimensional pattern presentation effect and a more environmentally friendly manufacturing method.

What is binder jetting technology?

There is no fusion to the build plate as the parts don’t solidify during the build process. The binder is deposited after each layer of powder.

Once a build is finished, the parts are depowdered and are left in a very fragile green state. This is why there is a sintering process required for binder jet to get a final component.

What're the differences between SLM and BJ?

SLM uses a laser, while BJ uses a printhead with multiple nozzles, even can be equipped with up to 2 pcs, 4 pcs, or 8pcs. While the laser scanning system is very expensive, the cost will be higher than BJ. SLM builds parts with a single point, while BJ use a printhead, that struggles to compete with a printhead. We can also expand a row of printheads as I mentioned above. You can imagine, building a part from point to line, or building a part from lines to surface, which is faster? That’s BJ undoubtedly.

Above all, the advantages for BJ are fast speed, low cost，which is suitable for mass production.

Binder jetting metal 3D printing has become the focus of major shoe mold manufacturers, who have joined in understanding, testing, and actively applied and promoted. Binder jetting metal 3D printing is bound to set off the revolution and innovation of shoe mold industry.

The main application of binder jetting metal 3D printing in shoe mold industry

Binder jetting metal 3D printing is particularly suitable for direct shoe mold manufacturing because of its detailed representation and manufacturing accuracy, while providing tremendous design and manufacturing freedom. Even in small batches, the most complex shapes can be designed and produced quickly and economically with the highest quality. In this way, binder jetting metal 3D printing offers new solutions for many manufacturers to overcome challenges.

Take the shoe sole mold for example, the weight of the samples is around 4-5 kg (a pair). By using M500 from EASYMFG, the printing time will be several hours. The cost will be $300~600 (per set), and the whole mold can be delivered within 3 days, which significantly improves the efficiency compared with the traditional processing method, achieving more complex shoe mold with anti-counterfeiting patterns. At the same time, it has advantages on on-site management, labor saving over precision casting and CNC.

High speed：Each layer of 7~25 seconds;

Low cost：$300~600 (per set)

Delivery circle：About 3days, less than one week

For the technical difficulties of shoe mold application, EASYMFG has studied and explored for almost three years, and can provide a comprehensive solutions to the customers.