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1) |
What is your company niche and what does your company do that is
notable,
unique or different?
RSP Tooling, LLC is commercializing an invention from the
Department of Energy that produces tooling, dies, and molds
directly from molten metal, thus reducing the cost and delivery
time. The process is an indirect spray form process that can make
tooling from any metal for any process. Any alloy that is used for
tooling today can be used in this process including
nickel-chrome-iron metal alloy (called Inconel), steel, copper, and
aluminum.
Starting with a CAD model of a tool, we create a plastic tool from
it using stereolithography. Then we make a ceramic model of the
plastic tool and basically spray molten metal onto that, continuing
to spray until we get the desired thickness. Then the ceramic,
which basically is what forms the cavity in the tool, is disposed
of. RSP stands for Rapid Solidification Process. What’s
significant in that is that we atomize the metal down to as small
as 5 microns. When the metal hits the ceramic, because of the
small size of the droplets, they freeze very quickly, thus the
rapid solidification. This process results in extremely fine grain
structure and the alloys generally stay in solution and there is
very little internal stress.
We
build molds for plastic, forging, die casting, extrusion, glass
forming, perm molds and more – basically any metal tooling for any
process. One of the advantages is that complexity doesn’t really
affect the cost of the tooling because the cost to make the model,
the ceramic and the spray don’t change based on shape. Our major
customers currently are forging, die casting, and plastic injection
processors. Forgers like it because there is no other way to make
rapid tooling that can hold up to forging operations. In plastic
injection there are other rapid processes and the fact that we can
get extremely long tool life is not always a selling point.
Generally speed and cost appeal to those customers.
There are two limitations to this process. One is standing steel
features with ratios above 3 to 1 length to width. The reason for
that is we’re spraying into a hole and it tends to want to close
the hole off before it’s full. The other limitation is size.
Right now we’re limited to about 7 inches by 7 inches and that’s
basically a monetary limitation. There is no limitation to the
process, and the returns are exponentially better on the bigger
tools. Our costs don’t even double if we go to 50 times bigger,
giving our customers an excellent price. Right now our operation
can turn a tool around in two weeks. The actual spray time to make
a tool is 8 minutes. You can potentially turn a tool around in
five or six days depending on your operations. Our standard
machine can make about 2,000 molds a year. A new machine design
can make about 10,000 molds. This takes us into
industries I never really thought about before, such as shoe
making. I’m getting a lot more interest from China and India than
from the U.S. at this point, though I am resisting that.
We
have a worldwide exclusive license with the Dept. of Energy for all
of the patents as they apply to tooling with this machinery. There
are other applications for the machines that we are not involved
in. |
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2)
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When and how did you get into the industry, what attracted you to
it?
The company was formed in January of 2002. I started the company
after I read about the process in R&D Magazine. I was working as an
engineering manager at a tool & die shop at the time. Dr. Kevin
McHugh, who works at a dept. of energy lab at the Idaho National
Lab, invented
 the
process. He had won the R&D 100 Award. I recognized the potential
of this revolutionary process in the American tool and die
industry. I contacted Kevin and he told me that the process was
being marketed as a way to produce prototype tooling, but that it
actually produced tools of as good or better quality as production
tooling. I brought the process back to the company I worked at and
they were going to use it. Unfortunately the company was bought
out and the new owners were not interested in the new technology.
So I quit and started RSP Tooling. |
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3) |
Relate a notable "best time" for your company.
The best times were first when the financial package to form the
company was finalized and the second was recently when the
development stage was concluded and the machine ran well, producing
high quality production tooling. |
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4) |
Similarly, relate notable challenges that your company has
overcome.
 The
major challenges were putting together the financing for a start up
company immediately after 9/11 and scaling up the lab unit onto a
production machine. The development of the machine took over two
years because of the need to have it in continuous operation. When
dealing with atomized molten metal there are some pretty serious
component life issues to overcome. Molten tool steel is run at
1600 degrees C, and most alumina and ceramic components fail at
1700 degrees C. So there’s a fine line there. We’ve replaced
materials from every component that is associated with alumina and
ceramic in order to improve that ratio. In fact two of the
materials we’re currently using weren’t even invented when we first
started. As a result I’ve become an expert at so many subjects
that I didn’t know existed before. |
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5)
6)
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When you are working on projects with your customers, what aspects
would you like them to
better recognize?
 The
RSP Tooling process is still in its infancy. We need customers who
are willing to work with us to bring the process up to its full
potential. We should be able to get this process down to making a
tool in a 24-hour period. We’d also like to take it in another
direction, and increase size capabilities. Our next size goal is
20 inches by 20 inches. One of the issues we have is that we just
make the cavity and we don’t have the capability of putting in
ejector pin holes, water lines, etc. I contract out that part of
the project. Given that there is no machining, accuracy is
relatively good in the +/- .002” range. But while the first shot
might not be perfect; we can adjust quickly on the second one.
List newly acquired technology, machinery or
key personnel (in last
year).
We
have just finished developing the “ToolSpray 100” a machine that
can produce a 50 pound tool every three hours from any metal for
any process. |
7)
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Has your company recently expanded? Plans to expand or form
partnerships/alliances?
 The
company is interested in forming alliances with companies interested
in forming service centers around the USA. One company actually
suggested getting 8 tool companies together and forming a separate
company that buys and operates the RSP tooling machines basically in
a non-profit situation where each company gets 1/8th of
the profit. A small tool shop doesn’t really need these machines,
but 8 tool shops could take good advantage of it cost-wise. We’re
flexible and open to suggestions on partnerships or alliances.
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8) |
Are you involved in any industry organizations or educational
programs related to the trade?
I
am a member of the Rapid Tooling section of the SME. It’s a fairly
new committee and we’re currently putting together an agenda and
setting goals. |
9)
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What do you think about changes occurring in the industry due to
globalization? How has it
affected the way you do business?
I
think that globalization is destroying the tool and die industry in
the United States and that in the
long run losing this type of industry will put us in a very
dangerous position in such a hostile world. It is my hope that this
process will make American tooling competitive and help protect the
industry.
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10)
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What will the industry look like in 3 to 5 years?
I
believe that this process will allow tools to continue to be built
in the U.S. and that the manufacturing base will not disappear.
Also, the need for prototype tooling will be eliminated since the
RSP technology can make a production tool in the same time as most
prototype processes. |
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Additional Background Information |
The company was founded in January 2002.
It
has 6 employees.
We
only have one machine and occupy about 2,000 square feet.
The web site is
www.rsptooling.com.
We
have made tools for plastic injection, die casting, extrusion,
glass forming, and forging operations. Auto industry, shoes,
medical and appliance industries primarily. Since we can do
basically any process, we can serve almost any field.
Contact:
Jim Knirsch, President
RSP Tooling, Inc.
30555 Solon Industrial Parkway
Solon, OH 44139
Phone
440-505-6033 x 210 |
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