FAL Boosts Efficiency with CreatBot 3D Printing
Abstract
This case study details how FAL (Fábrica de Armas de Leiria), a leading Portuguese industrial manufacturer, successfully addressed three long standing core challenges in traditional mold manufacturing, long lead times, high costs, and design limitations, by introducing the CreatBot D1000 HS industrial grade 3D printer.
The results show that FAL reduced the lead time for complex molds from the traditional 4 weeks to just 5 days, achieved an 82% reduction in unit cost, and implemented previously unmanufacturable conformal cooling channels, ultimately increasing injection molding yield to 99%.
This study provides a replicable digital upgrade pathway for the manufacturing industry, particularly in the mold and precision casting sectors.
The Challenges of Traditional Mold Manufacturing
Molds are the “profit levers” of industrial production, as their efficiency directly determines the development speed, cost, and quality of the final product. However, traditional mold manufacturing processes, represented by CNC subtractive manufacturing, are increasingly becoming a bottleneck that constrains innovation.
As a precision manufacturing enterprise with a long history, FAL’s mold department faced the following challenges:
- Prolonged lead times: CNC machining of complex molds required over 200 hours, with total delivery cycles spanning 3–4 weeks, failing to meet market demands for rapid response.
- High production costs: The unit cost for small batch trial molds exceeded €5,000, with material waste rates as high as 45%, significantly compressing project profitability.
- Technical limitations on design freedom: Traditional machining methods were virtually incapable of producing optimally efficient conformal cooling channels, resulting in extended injection cycles, uneven part cooling, and low yield rates.
FAL’s traditional wood pattern manufacturing and furan sand molding process involved cumbersome and time consuming procedures.
The CreatBot D1000 HS Enables Rapid Tooling Production
In 2025, FAL made the strategic decision to embrace additive manufacturing (AM) technology by integrating the CreatBot D1000 HS large format industrial 3D printer into its rapid tooling workflow.
Digital First Design
Engineers now directly utilise 3D modelling software for mold design, freely integrating conformal cooling channels and lightweight topological structures.
Integrated 3D Printing
The D1000 HS, using high temperature materials like HTPA CF, directly produces high precision, heat resistant mold patterns.
Accelerated Casting
The 3D printed patterns enable rapid sand or investment casting processes, followed by molten metal pouring to obtain final steel molds.
Digital Model Design
CreatBot D1000 HS Large Mold Printing Process
Mold Fabrication Process Using Printed Models
Why Choose the CreatBot D1000 HS?
Large Build Volume (1000 × 1000 × 1000 mm³)
Enables one piece printing of medium sized injection molds, eliminating segmented assembly and ensuring structural integrity and precision.
High Performance Material Compatibility
Supports high temperature engineering materials like HTPA CF. Printed molds can be directly used in injection molding environments below 200°C, meeting prototyping and production needs for most plastics.
Industrial Grade Accuracy (±0.2 mm)
Delivers high surface quality in printed parts, significantly reducing the need for post processing and achieving true near net shaping.
Effect Analysis: Quantitative Revolution
FAL’s practical data fully demonstrates the advantages of additive manufacturing solutions.
1. Efficiency Improvement: Time is Competitiveness
The mold delivery time has been reduced from 4 weeks to 5 days. The D1000 HS’s continuous printing capability and large format molding capability enable even the most complex molds to complete prototype manufacturing in a short time, achieving a speed revolution.
2. Cost Control: Significantly Improve Profit Margins
The following comparison highlights the direct cost advantages of the two approaches:
| Project | Traditional Steel Mold | D1000 HS 3D Printing Mold | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit cost | €5,200 | €950 | 82%↓ |
| Trial attempts | 3–5 times | 1–2 times | 60%↓ |
| Material waste | 45% | <5% | 90%↓ |
3. Breakthrough in Performance: Design Leads Manufacturing
Form Follower Cooling Channels
3D printing enables the creation of internal flow channels with arbitrary complex shapes, maximising mold cooling efficiency and shortening injection molding cycles by 30%, while increasing product yield to 99%.
Lightweight Structure
Through topology optimisation, the weight of the mold itself is reduced by 50%, which not only saves materials but also improves loading and unloading efficiency while reducing labour intensity for operators.
The injection mold printed by D1000 HS features integrated conformal cooling channels, a capability unachievable through conventional manufacturing processes.
Polishing and subsequent processing
Conclusions and Perspectives
FAL’s success story exemplifies how additive manufacturing is revolutionising the traditional mold industry. The CreatBot D1000 HS is not simply replacing CNC, it has opened up a new digital path for mold manufacturing, and its core value lies in:
- Shortening the value chain timeline: Greatly reducing the cycle from design to product, enabling manufacturers to respond faster to market demands.
- Lowering the innovation threshold: Making small batch, multi variety customisation economically feasible.
- Unlocking design potential: Breaking the shackles of traditional craftsmanship, allowing engineers to focus on functional implementation rather than manufacturing feasibility.
In the future, with the continued development of material science and deeper industry adoption, additive manufacturing in the mold industry will continue to increase.
CreatBot will continue to provide more efficient, stable, and user friendly industrial grade 3D printing solutions for global manufacturing businesses, working together to promote a new round of intelligent manufacturing revolution.