Rapid prototyping solution for the production of vulcanized rubber components

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technologies are quickly becoming more accessible and are being integrated in the workflow of the manufacturing industry. These technologies are often used for prototyping in the product design process. However the fact that there is a limited choice of printing materials means that prototypes of rubber components can rarely be printed from the desired material as used for real production. This paper investigates the possibility of producing prototypes of vulcanised rubber components by injection moulding process using 3D-printed Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) inserts. This would allow the production of a batch of rubber parts without needing to produce a metal mould, which is both costly and time consuming.