How to 3D Print Molds and Patterns for Composite Part Manufacturing

Creating composite molds from foam, plastic, or metal with traditional processes like machining or manual fabrication is time-consuming to do in-house and expensive to outsource. Today, more and more engineers are turning to precise, low-cost 3D printers to increase geometric freedom, cut lead times, and save significant cost in the composite production process. 

Primary Topics: 
- How to produce 3D printed patterns for moldmaking in composite manufacturing 
- How 3D printing can produce directly printed molds for low volume and high complexity 
- Specific design considerations Panoz Racing makes when directly 3D printing molds 

Presenters: Kevin Gautier and Tad Young 
Kevin Gautier has worked with motorsport composite parts since 2003, and in the CAD and 3D printing industries since 2012. Starting at Hans Performance Products, he has since gone on to make composite race car body work and intake manifolds, and now works at Formlabs as an applications engineer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Operations from Southern Polytechnic State University. 

Tad Young began to pursue his career in professional motorsports at Southern Polytechnic State University. He is a Formula SAE alumni and 2013-14 team president. He won the Rumbaugh Award in 2014 for leading the team through a massive merger with Kennesaw State University. After graduation Tad joined Panoz where he works as a design engineer by day and race field engineer by weekend. As a design engineer he is responsible for designing the molds and patterns you'll see in today's webinar.