The SmartMold project demonstrates that a mold doesn’t have to be just a rigid tool that holds the product’s shape. It’s much better if it’s an active part of the entire process. It can heat itself and help control production so that it’s faster, more precise, and more cost-effective.
3D printing, molds, simulation, recycling
In the production of plastic parts, seemingly minor details often make all the difference. Millimeters, temperature, pressure. Even a small deviation can result in a defective product instead of a high-quality one. This is precisely what the SmartMold project aims to address. Its vision is to develop a new generation of molds that will not merely be passive tools, but active components of the production process. The goal is to create a mold that is fully recyclable—100%, including the integrated heating wires.
SmartMold combines 3D printing, integrated heating, and a focus on recycling into a single innovative solution. The key objective is to enable full mold recyclability; therefore, monitoring of heating data is to be replaced by a simulation that is sufficiently accurate and validated to eliminate the need for subsequent temperature monitoring during the production process. The result will be a technology that speeds up production, reduces energy and material consumption, and contributes to a significant reduction in waste.
“In this project, we’re focusing on simulations. We are developing an application that will show how quickly the mold heats up and how the heat distributes across its surface. This helps us select the right materials for the mold and the heating process even before production begins, which is financially demanding,“ says Jaroslav Horák from the Laboratory of Process Modeling and Artificial Intelligence at CXI TUL.
The project is backed by a strong Czech-German partnership. The Technical University of Liberec, specifically the CXI TUL research institute, the German Fraunhofer IWU, the Czech company GZR plast s.r.o., and the German partner QPoint are all involved in the development.
2025: Setting the Parameters
For the project, 2025 was primarily about laying a solid foundation. The team first precisely defined what the newly developed mold needed to achieve: resistance to higher temperatures, tightness, precision, a high-quality surface, and suitable material properties. In other words: it was necessary to specify very precisely what real-world operation would require of the new technology.
In addition, an intensive search was conducted for suitable materials—ones that could withstand heat, maintain stability, and also be recyclable. This is a crucial part of the entire SmartMold concept. It’s not enough to come up with a smart technical solution; it’s equally important that it makes sense economically and ecologically.
Heat Under Control
One of the most significant achievements of 2025 is the development of a software tool capable of showing in great detail how heat propagates. Thanks to this, researchers can now simulate in advance what will happen during heating, where unevenness may occur, and how to optimize the entire system. A key parameter here is the heating rate, which fundamentally influences the resulting quality and efficiency of the entire process.
Comparing different material variants has also been an important part of the work to date. The team observed how individual combinations behave during heating, how quickly they react, and how well they can maintain temperature across the entire surface.
2026: First Demonstrator and Comparison with Real-World Conditions
As early as 2025, a test sample was created, confirming that the simulation results correspond to the system’s actual behavior. The functionality of the application designed to visualize and evaluate the heating process was also verified.
And this is where 2026 becomes a pivotal year for SmartMold. While last year was mainly about design, this year will be about integrating the individual components into a single functional unit. The goal is to refine the materials, heating system, and software to a state where they can withstand testing and demonstrate that the entire concept works.
In practice, this involves several key steps. During 2026, the project aims to validate the first fully functional demonstrator, complete the heated mold, and subsequently compare it with the standard solution used today. For experimental verification, sensors will be temporarily used to compare simulation results with the mold’s actual behavior. It will be crucial for the mold to heat up faster and handle operating conditions with high reliability. The project will also involve grinding the mold into granules and verifying that the material can be reused.
SmartMold Moves from Development to Practice
SmartMold is moving from development to proving that this approach makes practical sense. This technology will change the way molds for composite manufacturing are designed and produced. It will create a solution that is faster, smarter, and more sustainable than what the industry uses today.
