SOLUTIONS / Tooling & Casting
Faster tooling. Lower lead times. Less waste.
Tooling is often where production timelines get held hostage. 3D printing doesn't replace all conventional tooling — but for the right applications, it cuts lead times and upfront cost dramatically without sacrificing quality.
THE PROBLEM
Tooling lead times are a production bottleneck you can reduce.
Conventional tooling — injection mould inserts, casting patterns, jigs and fixtures — involves long lead times and high upfront costs. When a tool needs to be modified, the clock resets. For low-to-mid volume applications, this cost structure often doesn't hold up. 3D-printed tooling and casting patterns can compress timelines from weeks to days, at a fraction of the cost — but only when application, material, and accuracy requirements genuinely align with what the technology delivers.
SOLUTION FIT
Where 3D printing fits in tooling.
Not every tooling application is a fit. Here's where it genuinely makes sense.
Investment casting patterns
SLA Resin
High-accuracy resin patterns for lost-wax casting with a very high burn out rate. Eliminates the wax pattern tooling step entirely. Strong fit for complex geometries and any production volumes series.
UnionTech RSPro 600 / 800
RSPro 1400–2100
Metal tooling
inserts
L-PBF Metal
Conformal cooling channels, complex insert geometries. For mould producers looking to improve cycle times or produce low-volume tooling faster than CNC allows.
BLT-S400
BLT-S450
BLT-S600
Jigs, fixtures &
end-use tooling
FFF
Production-grade polymer jigs and fixtures. PEEK and PC offer the mechanical performance needed for demanding assembly and production environments and can replace metal in some cases.These materials are lighter than metal and can be corrosion resistant.
INTAMSYS FUNMAT PRO 310 APOLLO
PRO 410
Injection molding molds
SLA Resin
SLA can be used to rapidly produce injection molds that can hold upto 50 cycles. Perfect for qualification series before investing in an expensive machined molds.
UnionTech Pilot 250/450
and Intamsys printers
Machines for this application
UNTIONTECH
BLT
INTAMSYS
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Pilot 250/450: for injection molding patterns
RSPro 600 2.0 / 800 2.0: Production SLA with variable beam and high dimensional accuracy. Investment casting capable. Best fit for complex patterns at mid-scale.
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BLT-S400: Platform of choice for complex tooling inserts with conformal cooling. Proven material range, multi-laser for throughput on dense, complex geometries.
BLT-S450 / S600: For larger insert geometries or higher throughput. Relevant for mould producers scaling tooling production beyond single-insert capacity.
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FUNMAT PRO 310 APOLLO: PEEK for demanding jig and fixture applications. Mechanically capable in production environments, lighter than metal, no corrosion risk.
FUNMAT PRO 610HT: Same material capability as the Apollo with larger build volume (310×310×400mm). For fixtures where the Apollo's build volume is not big enough.
WHAT CHANGES
What faster tooling means in practice.
Casting patterns that took 4–6 weeks can be produced in days.
Conformal cooling, undercuts, internal channels — same price as simple geometry.
Modify the pattern file, reprint. No new quote, no restart.
When production volumes don't justify hard tooling investment, 3D printing bridges the gap.
NEXT STEP
Tell us your tooling application.
Material, geometry, required accuracy, current lead time. We'll work through whether 3D printing makes sense — and if it does, which approach delivers the best result for your situation.
