Applying additively manufactured lattice structures in injection overmoulding to produce high-performance hybrid components

Krizsma, Szabolcs Gábor and Suplicz, András and Tomin, Márton (2026) Applying additively manufactured lattice structures in injection overmoulding to produce high-performance hybrid components. MATERIALS AND DESIGN, 270. No.-116893. ISSN 0264-1275

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the rapid production of prototype injection moulds and complex reinforcement structures for injection overmoulding. In this study, an injection mould insert was produced by vat photopolymerisation and used to overmould fused filament fabricated (FFF) cellular reinforcement structures printed from carbon fibre-reinforced polyamide. Rib, grid and gyroid reinforcement geometries with different relative densities were placed in the mould cavity and overmoulded with polypropylene. During injection moulding, the operational deformation and temperature of the additively manufactured mould insert were monitored, while cavity filling was analysed through a glass window using a high-speed camera. The reinforcement inserts increased mould deformation and fill time, especially for more complex geometries, while the thermal state of the mould remained nearly unchanged. The resulting hybrid structures were evaluated under quasi-static, dynamic and thermomechanical loading. Reinforcement geometry strongly affected mechanical performance: the best-performing grid structure increased flexural stiffness by 74%, while the rib structure increased impact strength by 107% compared to neat injection moulded polypropylene. Dynamic mechanical analysis proved that lattices improved the thermomechanical performance of the parts. The proposed approach demonstrates that additively manufactured cellular reinforcements can be effectively integrated into injection overmoulding to produce lightweight hybrid components with locally tailored mechanical performance.

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