Low Cost Additive Manufacturing for Cast Tooling

Ever-changing threats mean that production quantities for some new Air Force systems may be limited as missions—and accompanying system designs—change with increasing frequency. This means production runs of no more than 200-250 units, particularly for expendable and attritable aircraft that depend on small engines. For these engines, a critical factor is tooling required to produce limited numbers of essential components, including investment castings. The Low Cost Additive Manufacturing for Cast Tooling program offers rapid low-cost wax injection dies for limited casting quantities required by these engines. The program will establish a solution that does not require substantive changes in the investment casting processes at the foundries or changes in engine component design processes at small engine OEMs. It will recognize, evaluate, and demonstrate low cost, limited life 3D-printed wax pattern injection dies that encompass a range from simple to complex and capture cost benefits and other advantages associated with the approach. A team, led by Renaissance Services, and comprised of foundries and turbine engine designers, will perform the program. Ultimately, the effort will demonstrate up to 80% cost improvement over conventional hard tooling for limited quantity systems, accompanied by comparable reductions in lead times for wax die injection tooling.