From Tooling Board to Tooling Paste – An Alternative Approach for Composite Tooling
From Tooling Board to 3D Printing Tooling Paste – An Alternative Approach for Composite Tooling
For many manufacturers, tooling board has been the default starting material for patterns, moulds, and plugs for decades. It’s widely available, easy to machine, and well understood, but it also brings challenges around material handling, storage, and waste.
Recent developments in robotic 3D printing with polyurethane tooling paste offer a different approach. By printing near-net shapes and then machining them back to final tolerance, manufacturers can reduce waste, save handling time, and simplify material logistics.
This article looks at the key differences between the two methods, based on real-world production examples.
What are the traditional tooling methods
Tooling board has become the go-to material in composite manufacturing for plugs, moulds, and fixtures because it’s predictable. It comes in a wide range of densities, it machines cleanly, and it offers the dimensional stability needed for large-scale tooling. Over decades of use, manufacturers have grown familiar with its behaviour, which reduces risk in critical projects. That reliability, along with its compatibility with 3 and 5-axis CNC machining centres, has cemented its place as the industry standard.
But reliability doesn’t always equal efficiency. Preparing tooling board for machining often means cutting and gluing up multiple blocks. This is a manual, time-consuming process that ties up skilled labour before the machining even starts. Once on the machine, as much as 40–50% of the board can end up as waste, especially when producing complex forms. On top of that, storing sufficient quantities of board requires significant workshop space and upfront investment.
For manufacturers under increasing pressure to reduce waste, streamline workflows, and speed up production, these inefficiencies make tooling board a resource-heavy option – even if it remains the familiar choice.
The alternative method is to start with large blocks of low density foam, these blocks are cheaper than tooling board, so even though they generate large amounts of waste the financial impact of that waste is lower.
Once the shape is established a layer of tooling paste is applied over the foam surface. This paste forms the hard outer layer that gives the plug or mould it’s accuracy and stability. After curing, the paste is then CNC machined back to the final geometry, leaving a smooth precise surface ready for sealing and finishing.
This approach is popular because it reduces raw material costs compared to machining solid boards, but the process remains inefficient and requires manual intervention.
The 3D printing tooling paste method
Paste Pro 3D printing a front bumper model
Robotic 3D printing with tooling paste offers a way of working that overcomes the inefficiencies of both traditional methods.
Unlike tooling board where up to half of the material is lost as waste, tooling paste is 3D printed directly into a near-net shape. This means the printed part is already close to it’s final geometry before machining begins. The result is a dramatic reduction in material waste (On average, from 50% to 15% waste – a 70% reduction), no need to store and handle large boards and much faster turn around times without the slow, labour-intesive step of blocking up.
Compared to the foam and paste approach, the advantages are just as clear. The process no longer requires a foam core, which eliminates an entire stage of machining. Instead of applying paste manually and waiting for layers to cure, the Paste_Pro 3D printing system automatically prints the paste to required shapes and cures after around 40 seconds. With this process, we reduce manual intervention while producing the same stable, low CTE tool that manufacturers expect from traditional methods.
Comparative benefits
3D printing with tooling paste fundamentally changes the workflow of pattern, plug and mould manufacturing. By combining automated robotic extrusion with a proven material like polyurethane or epoxy paste, manufacturers can achieve the same high-quality outcome with far greater efficiency. Some of the benefits include:
Reduced material waste: Near-net shape printing means around 10-15% of the material is removed during machining.
No board storage: Instead of managing the logistics of tooling board, paste is stored in sealed barrels ready to use when required.
Removal of blocking up process: This time consuming and repetative process is no longer needed with the Paste_Pro.
Less manual intervention: Unlike block and traditional paste methods the 3D printing process is automated, reducing labour costs and freeing up staff for higher value tasks.
Example – Car Model Demonstration
Paste_Pro in action 3D printing and milling at CNC Robotics Facility.
In 2024, CNC Robotics worked with Sika and Aibuild to produce a model car part to demonstrate the Paste_Pro‘s capability as an alternative to traditional tooling board.
- Model dimensions: 800 mm × 800 mm × 400 mm
- Print time: 92 minutes
- Machining: Final detailing carried out on a CNC Robot, machining away 2.5kg of material (13.6%).
The result matched the finish surface finish as tooling board, but with less waste, no manual glueing up and no witness lines.
Is it right for your workflow?
Tooling paste is not a universal replacement for tooling board – it’s another option in the manufacturing toolkit for large and complex jobs. For some operations, the reduced waste and handling justify the change. For others, established tooling board processes remain the better fit.
The key is to understand where the benefits align with your production goals, whether that’s cost reduction, sustainability targets, or improved throughput.
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