Heat flux canals (HFC) technique: an alternative to cool down stereolithography moulds

The design of injection mould inserts obtained by stereolithography (SL) has various recommendations that are based on experimental work done by researchers over the last decade. There are no final conclusions about the best cooling technique for SL inserts. Moreover, no criteria are presented concerning structural and thermal designs based on stress-strain analysis, although a number of researchers consider ejection forces as the main failure effect of the SL tool. This work presents an alternative technique to cool down SL inserts, based on heat flux canals that are strategically positioned ...