3D Systems and Lindar Corporation accelerate thermoforming tooling with AM

Lindar Corporation, a U.S. full-service thermoforming company active in sectors ranging from food and agriculture to healthcare and recreation, has integrated additive manufacturing technologies from 3D Systems into its tooling workflow. The goal is to accelerate the prototyping and production of thermoforming molds and tooling.

Lindar has deployed two industrial 3D printing systems from 3D Systems: the EXT 1270 Titan Pellet and the ProX SLS 6100. The EXT 1270 uses pellet extrusion to produce large‑format moulds, while the ProX SLS 6100 supports selective laser sintering (SLS) of more detailed and complex geometry tooling. 3D Systems

By moving away from traditional machined aluminium tooling (which typically required 8–12 weeks of lead time), Lindar reports achieving delivery times of approximately 1–2 weeks — an improvement of more than 80 %.

According to Chuck Grant, Design & Innovation Manager at Lindar, the pellet-printing approach allowed them to print an oversized mold, then machine only the final piece, rather than machining all surfaces, resulting in a cost roughly one-third of the previous method. 3D Systems

The larger-format pellet printer enables Lindar to fabricate tooling for heavy-gauge thermoforming applications rapidly, then finish it via CNC machining. Meanwhile, the SLS system supports higher-detail and thin-gauge molds and fixtures. Together, these technologies enable Lindar to offer customers full-scale thermoformed prototypes in significantly shorter timeframes. 3D Systems

Lindar reports that additive manufacturing has become part of its end-to-end production strategy, spanning from design through tooling to finished parts. Grant states the company can now “take their design or create one for them, rapidly make and run prototype tooling and parts, plus bring it all together in production.” 3D Systems

For companies in thermoforming and other tooling-intensive sectors, Lindar’s case illustrates how large-format pellet-extrusion printing and SLS can reduce lead times, lower material and machining cost burdens, and increase flexibility for lower-volume or prototyping runs. The use of full-scale molds produced via AM also supports faster iteration and potentially shorter time-to-market for new products. 3D Systems notes that their tooling-specific AM solutions deliver lead-time reductions of up to 65% and raw material savings of up to 88% compared to conventional mold manufacturing. 3D Systems