Midual: Integrated Engine Manufacturing

In the field of high end metal craftsmanship, traditional mold manufacturing methods face constraints such as prolonged cycles, high costs, and design limitations.

This case study provides an in depth analysis of how metal art manufacturer Midual innovatively employed the CreatBot F430NX dual independent nozzle 3D printer with PET CF (carbon fibre reinforced polyester) material, utilising dual colour printing technology to integrally produce both the mold and support structures for motorcycle engine sand casting in a single process.

This approach successfully replaced traditional metal mold processing, which previously took months to just a few days, while significantly enhancing design freedom, offering the metal casting industry an agile, cost effective, and efficient new paradigm for digital production.

The Dilemma: The Pain of Manufacturing Behind the Beauty of Precision

Midual is dedicated to crafting top tier metal motorcycle engine components with sculptural aesthetics. However, transforming intricate designs from blueprint to metal reality first required overcoming the bottleneck of casting mold production:

• Prohibitive time costs: CNC machining of metal molds required several months per set, severely delaying product development and customisation.
• Cost effectiveness stifling innovation: The high cost of molds made design iterations and small batch trial production economically unviable, where any minor modification meant significant waste of prior investment.
• Limited geometric complexity: Traditional subtractive manufacturing struggled to achieve certain complex internal cavities and organic curved surfaces, restricting designers’ creativity.
• Challenges in integral forming: Complex molds often needed segmented manufacturing and subsequent assembly, introducing errors and compromising the integrity of the final cast component.

Midual required a solution capable of rapidly and accurately generating high strength molds, suitable for direct casting, straight from their digital models.

Breakthrough: Synergistic Innovation of Two Colour Printing and High Performance Materials

Midual adopted the CreatBot F430NX, establishing an innovative digital mold manufacturing workflow that breaks from tradition.

Core Technology: CreatBot F430NX Industrial Dual IDEX 3D Printer

• Independent dual extruder (IDEX): This system is the cornerstone of the innovation. With two print heads operating completely independently, it enables Midual to simultaneously print with two different materials, one for the casting pattern itself and another specifically dedicated to support structures.
• Exceptional printing accuracy and stability: The F430NX ensures high dimensional precision and superior surface quality of the mold patterns, which is critical for obtaining dimensionally accurate final metal castings.
• Industrial grade robust frame: The printer maintains stability during prolonged printing of large, dense objects, guaranteeing the reliability of the final molds.

Core Material: PET CF (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polyester)

• High stiffness and strength: The infusion of carbon fibre provides the printed molds with sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the compaction and clamping pressures during the sand casting process, preventing deformation.
• Excellent dimensional stability and heat resistance: The material resists warping and shrinkage during printing, ensuring mold accuracy, and its heat resistance is suitable for the sand casting environment.
• Smooth surface finish: Printed patterns exhibit a smooth surface, contributing to higher quality casting surfaces.

Revolutionary Process: Dual Material Printing, Integrated Pattern and Support

Leveraging the IDEX system, Midual uses PET CF for the main pattern and a second, easily removable or dissolvable material (such as water soluble support or another easily separable polymer) for all support structures.

This enables:

• Non destructive support removal: After printing, support structures can be easily and completely removed without damaging the complex surface of the mold pattern.
• Maximum efficiency: The pattern and its supports are printed in a single, automated process, eliminating the need for manual support application.

Motorcycle engine mold printing process

Journey: From Digital Bits to Metal Souls

Implementation Process

1. Digital Modelling

The designer completes the 3D model of the engine component in modelling software.

2. Automated Slicing

In slicing software, two materials are assigned for the F430NX, PET CF for the pattern itself, and a dedicated support material for all overhanging structures.

3. Integrated Printing

The F430NX initiates printing, synchronously and precisely manufacturing the high strength PET CF mold pattern along with its perfectly matched support structures in a single print job.

4. Streamlined Post Processing & Casting

The support material is removed, revealing the complete mold pattern. This pattern is then used for traditional sand mold preparation, followed by investment casting to produce the final metal engine component.

Engine model finished product display

Value Realization

• Lead time reduced by over 90%: Mold manufacturing time was reduced from “months” to “days,” enabling light speed iteration in product development.
• Maximized cost effectiveness: By avoiding expensive CNC machining and material waste, the cost per trial was dramatically reduced, making small batch customisation and rapid market validation feasible.
• Unprecedented design freedom: Any digitally designed complex shape can be accurately printed as a mold, allowing designers to focus on the perfect integration of aesthetics and functionality without being constrained by “manufacturability.”
• Uncompromised precision & quality: The high accuracy and smooth surface finish of the printed molds directly translate into final metal castings with superior dimensional compliance and excellent initial surface quality.

Engine component practical application cases

Insight: Digital Chain Drives Manufacturing Revolution

Midual’s practice signifies that 3D printing has evolved beyond auxiliary prototyping to deeply penetrate the core manufacturing link of tooling (molds). It has successfully transformed the traditional linear “design → mold making → casting” process into a highly flexible, digital closed loop.

This hybrid manufacturing model of “printing molds, casting metal” charts a clear path toward agility, digitalisation, and customisation for the traditional casting and metalworking industries currently facing transformation pressures.

Look Forward to the Future

The successful collaboration between CreatBot F430 NX and Midual is but one microcosm of the smart manufacturing wave. As materials science continues to advance and printing technologies become increasingly refined, additive manufacturing is poised to transition from “replacing” to “leading” across more traditional industrial sectors.

CreatBot remains committed to empowering innovators like Midual, providing reliable industrial grade solutions to break constraints and transform cutting edge ideas into tangible reality.