Researchers from the
University of Navarra,
IKOR Technology Centre,
GAIKER Technology Centre, and
Valencian International University have published a systematic review examining how additive manufacturing can be used to produce mold inserts for plastic injection molding.
Published in
Rapid Prototyping Journal, the paper reviews 67 studies from 2013 to 2024 on 3D printed mold inserts made using polymer and metal additive manufacturing processes. The authors found that material jetting, vat photopolymerization, and laser powder bed fusion with metals are the most widely reported AM routes for insert production.