Abstract: Layer manufacture technologies are gaining increasing attention in the manufacturing for the production of polymer mould tooling. Layer manufacture techniques can be used in this potential manufacturing area to produce tooling either indirectly or directly, and powder metal based layer manufacture systems are considered as an effective way of producing rapid tooling. Mechanical properties and accuracy are critical for tooling. This paper reports the results of an experimental study examining the potential of layer manufacturing processes to deliver production tooling for polymer manufacture. A comparison between indirectly selective laser sintering and directly selective laser sintering to provide the tooling was reported. Three main areas were addressed during the study: mechanical strength, accuracy, and build rate. Overviews of the results from the studies were presented.

Key words: Selective laser sintering, Layer manufacture, Mould tooling, Rapid tooling