Philip Jones, founder of 3D Tech Innovations, has obtained a utility patent for his approach to producing soft plastic fishing lures using 3D printed metal molds and is willing to license this technology to interested parties. Jones, who has designed over 200 different products for 6^th Sense Fishing, Googan Squad, Z-Man Fishing Products, Bass Mafia and others believe that leveraging its offerings will make new lure development more efficient, cost-effective and customized.

“By using 3D printed metal molds to create the lure cavities in the molds, we significantly reduce design and development time,” he explained. “Whether you are developing prototypes for a new product or making changes to an existing product, creating a mold using 3D printed molds saves time and money. With our proprietary design process, we are able to capture details such as 3D scales or other naturally occurring patterns in soft plastic fishing lures that are difficult, costly or impossible to reproduce using other manufacturing techniques. All of this is possible without compromising the precision or functionality of the traditional CNC mold manufacturing process. Additionally, it allows for the reduction of CNC programming hours and machine run time.”

Traditional fixed lure shapes are difficult to modify or replace, whereas this new method allows for rapid interchange of modular dies, enabling efficient mass production of different lure types and sizes. That alone makes it cost-effective and valuable, but Jones also stressed that the three-dimensional nature of 3D printing means lure designs are no longer limited to the three- or five-axis constraints of CNC machines. By removing these limitations of CNC manufacturing and leveraging the benefits of additive manufacturing, the possibilities for new lure shapes and categories expand enormously.

“This will make it possible to produce lure molds with deep undercuts, features off the mold parting line, and in-place printed fixtures that create hook slots or cavities in soft plastic fishing lures,” he explained.

In short, while this advancement in mold making will be of use to the small mold maker, Jones also sees it as something that can be applied on a large scale to large lure molds with 20+ cavities. This makes the design process, the modification process and the production itself much more efficient, which in turn allows for faster time to market and higher product quality. In an extremely competitive fishing market, this is critical.

For more information about 3D Tech Innovations or to license this technology, please contact Philip Jones at [email protected] or (205) 447-7377.

Utility model No. 12,053,916 was granted on August 6, 2024.