Los Alamos National Laboratory

Additive manufacturing is revolutionizing steel tool production. Streamlining conventional mass production methods like forming, forging, and stamping has the potential to make a significant impact. Additive technology most effectively creates small batch parts and highly complex, exotic materials. This is particularly relevant in tooling manufacturing, where the work environment is extreme and complex geometries such as internal channels are often required. Printing tooling reduces waste, improves recyclability, and minimizes wasted energy and material. Developing AM methods will make formed tooling stronger and more reliable while reducing the steps required to create tools and lowering the risk of human error.