Using Autodesk Fusion 360 and Metal AM to Optimize Automotive Mold Cooling Solutions

This industrial case study will cover a recent design-and-make collaboration between Autodesk and Impression Technologies (ITL), an industry-leading, automotive, hot-forming solutions provider. Together we’ll present a comparison of several mold designs across a range of design approaches and manufacturing technologies. We’ll demonstrate how optimizing design for additive manufacturing can be maximized to achieve more-efficient production times and material usage, improved part quality, and reduced part cost and energy consumption. During the project, experts from Autodesk and ITL collaborated via Autodesk CFD software and the Autodesk Fusion 360 platform. We used simulation and several design methodologies, including conformal cooling and the application of lattice structures via the Autodesk Fusion 360 Product Design extension. The project culminated in the tooling production using Autodesk’s Birmingham Technology Centre metal additive manufacturing systems, and testing and validation at ITL’s research facility.