Product development based on metal 3D printing has been expanding steadily in the manufacturing industry. Powder bed fusion (PBF) is currently the most widely used metal 3D printing method, as it produces parts of complex shape with high precision. Applying PBF to the cutting tool industry could shorten process time relative to conventional sintering routes and reduce the material waste generated during machining. It also allows internal lattice structures and fluid channels to be designed within the tool, facilitating light-weighting and improved cutting performance. In this study, nTop software was first used to design the internal lattice structure of an end mill tool for additive manufacturing and to perform the corresponding simulation analysis. Three configurations were compared, in which the tool lattice was defined either by thickness dimension or by thickness range, and the reinforced results confirmed that none of the designs posed problems for actual additive manufacturing within the software. On this basis, tool bodies were fabricated on PBF metal 3D printing equipment, and their feasibility for tool applications was evaluated.
