The production of customized ship propellers is labor- and resource-intensive. Many foundries use organic polymers for the molds for high-precision metal castings, which has the disadvantage that environmentally harmful, sometimes toxic gases are produced during metal casting and the mold sand is contaminated with pollutants. Powder bed 3D printing enables high-precision and efficient production of casting molds, but only works with organic binders.
Due to increased environmental awareness and a shortage of skilled workers, the project aims to develop an environmentally friendly, high-precision, and labor-efficient alternative using powder bed 3D printing with an alkaline-activated binder and a customized printer. The aim is to manufacture the individual parts of the mold using 3D printing and to use universal casting molds for the other areas, which are reusable as they do not come into contact with the hot metal. These parts are then to be assembled into a complete mold using a modular system.