Shanghai Yisu Laser’s Wang Lijun: Accelerating the Transformation of the Mold Industry Towards Additive Manufacturing

At the beginning of 2025, Panda3dp.com launched a special feature titled "2025 Outlook from 3D Printing Industry Executives", inviting Wang Lijun, Vice General Manager of Shanghai Yisu Laser Technology Co., Ltd., a metal 3D printing mold manufacturer, to share his insights on the prospects of products, technology, and the market in the coming year.  

Throughout 2024, the mold industry has forged ahead amid a landscape of both challenges and opportunities. In response to an increasingly complex global environment and market dynamics, enterprises have intensified their pursuit of quality enhancement, cost reduction, and efficiency improvements. As 3D printing technology becomes more deeply integrated into the mold sector, a quiet yet profound transformation is unfolding.  

The application of 3D printing in mold manufacturing primarily includes conformal cooling channels, conformal porous steel, hybrid printing, and precision printing—technologies that significantly enhance production yield and efficiency. Moreover, as advancements in 3D printing continue to drive down costs, the technology is becoming an indispensable innovation in the production of injection molds, die-casting molds, rubber molds, paper-plastic molds, foam molds, blow molds, die-cutting molds, and tire molds, among others.    

For Shanghai Yisu, 2024 has been a year of both growth and breakthroughs. Through relentless effort, the company successfully developed its third-generation 3D printing equipment—the E3 series—by the latter half of the year. Its flagship model, the E3-420, boasts a spacious build volume of 400×400×420mm, an impressive print capacity of 67,200 cm³, and delivers stable, high-efficiency performance, meeting the diverse manufacturing demands of the mold industry with ease. Alongside its advanced printing equipment, Yisu also introduced a comprehensive 3D printing solution for molds, officially debuting it in the market.   

Yisu’s holistic 3D printing solution begins with an in-depth analysis of a company’s specific needs and operational landscape, tailoring a customized strategy aligned with its development goals. This solution encompasses factory layout planning, the integration of 3D printing equipment and auxiliary machinery, metal powder selection, process optimization, supporting software, engineer and operator training, equipment maintenance, powder supply, long-term operational support, and iterative technology upgrades. Through this all-encompassing approach, Yisu aims to hand over the "golden key" of 3D printing to every mold manufacturer aspiring to embrace additive manufacturing, empowering them in their transition toward this cutting-edge technology.   

Despite the current challenges posed by limitations in printing precision and efficiency, the large-scale adoption of 3D printing in the mold industry is inevitable. As technological advancements continue, improvements in both accuracy and speed are within reach. Ultra-composite laser equipment is poised to drive a dual leap forward in these areas. In the near future, printed components are expected to achieve precision within 0.05mm, surface roughness as fine as Ra1.6, and a printing efficiency exceeding 50kg within 24 hours. Moreover, the integration of intelligent printing, precision machining, and heat treatment into a seamless, one-step process may soon become a reality. The vision of producing molds in just two steps—printing and wire-cutting—could soon be within grasp.  

Already, industries such as footwear mold manufacturing have embraced large-scale 3D printing as the mainstream production method. Factories in Quanzhou and other regions have begun investing heavily in 3D printing equipment to replace traditional manufacturing processes. The trend of 3D printing overtaking subtractive manufacturing is becoming increasingly apparent. In the future, the greatest competitor to CNC machining may not be a more advanced CNC machine—but rather, the 3D printer itself. The future is already here! To stay ahead of the curve, mold manufacturers must embrace change, ensuring their place in the evolving industry landscape.