MacLean-Fogg Company (MFC) partnered with Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT (Fraunhofer ILT) to create the largest 3D-printed nearly solid die casting tooling insert in the world, 156 kg (350 lbs), for Toyota Europe’s Yaris hybrid transmission housing.
A conformally cooled insert, allegedly the largest in the world, was produced using Fraunhofer ILT’s gantry-type, multi-laser Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) machine with MacLean-Fogg’s patented L-40 tool steel powder. A hybrid process was utilized to reduce costs.
“Gantry printing with L-40 tool steel powder material, a promising avenue towards scalable additive manufacturing, is opening the potential for metal 3D printing to reduce lead times and to realize more responsive manufacturing— in particular while delivering world-class insert performance, longer maintenance intervals, and cost-effective pricing structure,” said Dr. Magdalena Coventry and Dr. Andrew Willett, Toyota Europe.
MacLean-Fogg’s L-40 powder was specifically designed for the LPBF process to achieve high hardness and toughness, minimizing crack formation and crack propagation even when printing at moderate pre-heat temperatures. Compared to conventional tool steels, L-40 also reduces the need for advanced post-build heat treatments, further decreasing time-to-market.
Additional benefits include:
- Reduced the soldering of aluminum to the tooling surface;
- Approximately twice the lifespan of conventional aluminum die-casting inserts;
- Lower overall tooling maintenance requirements;
- High sustainability, with no cobalt and a minimal amount of nickel.
“Toyota posed a thrilling challenge by requesting to expand the application of L-40 to large-format tooling inserts,” explained Dr. Harald Lemke, MacLean-Fogg Director of Product Development. “We had to overcome scale-up challenges such as ensuring consistent gas flow conditions as build sizes grew.”
Fraunhofer ILT addressed these requirements with its gantry-type, five-laser LPBF system, which allows for the processing of parts longer than 50 cm in side length and chamber temperatures of up to 200°C.
MacLean-Fogg and Fraunhofer ILT aim to expand the technology into structural die casting, inserts for giga-casting tools, and other large hot- or cold-forming tools where traditional powders have not yet been validated. All these are consistent with broader trends in the automotive industry towards lightweighting, shorter development times, and local supply chain resilience.
Founded in 1925 to manufacture lock nuts for railroads, Mundelein, IL-based MacLean-Fogg has 3,000 employees and $1 billion in annual sales. MacLean-Fogg operates 28 manufacturing plants in Europe, Asia and both North and South America.
