Based in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin Molding Solutions (MMS) has purchased its second AddUp FormUp 350 powder bed fusion (PBF) machine, following the successful installation and operation of the first one in 2022.
This machine is the sixth added to a global fleet of FormUp systems in use across Europe and North America. FormUp 350 uses quality output and technology for safe management of metal powder.
A single FormUp 350, according to AddUp, can manufacture the quantity of tire mold inserts which previously required five metal 3D printers. The company says that thanks to the productivity and serial production capabilities of its additive manufacturing (AM) machines (3D printers), each new FormUp 350 replaces five legacy AM machines.
By industrializing metal AM, MMS has been able to produce many mold sipe inserts with increasingly complex shapes to improve traction and wear over the life of the tire.
MMS is Michelin’s worldwide division for the production of tire curing molds, with locations in Europe, Asia and North America. It supplies molds to Michelin’s tire manufacturing plants globally.
Glen Nelson, technical development manager at MMS, added: “MMS is very pleased with the productivity and quality achievable on AddUp’s FormUp 350. This level of productivity allowed us to decommission older and less productive 3D printers. We’ve seen improvements in the cleanliness and safety of our operations and our operators very much appreciate its ease of use from build plate programming to machine set up and the machine user interface.”
