In the race to market, the role of rapid prototyping (RP) in proving out fit, function, and design has never been more important. At the same time, RP's potential in custom, small-batch manufacturing has moved from theory to reality.

According to Phillips Plastics, "manufacturers are focusing on trying to get material as close to spec resin as possible in order to produce parts from SLS and SLA technology which will be as close as possible to the manufactured product." (Click here for complete interview.)

Phillips notes that "keeping up with demands of customers to continuously reduce rapid prototyping lead time" is a challenge. "Recently we quoted a part on Friday, did the finishing and painting on Monday, and had it to the customer on Tuesday. Expectations of customers to have the parts as quickly as possible is a concern because eventually there will be a plateau reached as to how fast you can get the tools out. When the plateau is reached, where are the cuts going to be made next time--this will continue to be a challenge, and price is an ongoing concern."

Optomec Inc's Lisa Taute agrees that time-to-market is a major concern. "Mold makers are increasingly concerned about the turnaround time to get a mold. Injection molders are increasingly concerned about getting more production from the tool, with less overhead." Profitability also looms large, Taute points out. "Because of the increasing transfer of work to Asia and other foreign countries, many domestic mold makers are concerned about maintaining profitability given that these suppliers are able to turn molds around quickly and less expensively." (Click here for complete interview.)

The availability of skilled labor is a key industry focus, Taute notes: "Europe is experiencing an aging workforce, which leaves traditional manufacturing lacking. In the U.S., one could argue that this same factor could be a concern. With fewer future workers engaging in apprenticeship-type programs, there will be fewer people who know many of the key elements in manufacturing."

Adds Z Corp CEO Marina Hatsopoulos: "The [RP] market is expanding rapidly, which pushes heavier demands on speed and cost. As speed and cost improve, the market will further expand. Companies who can't keep up will face a problem. In addition, the sector will push into the two extremes: high-quality production parts for manufacturing on the one side, and fast and inexpensive parts for design review on the other side. The technologies caught in the middle will satisfy neither requirement fully and will be put in a tough position." (Click here for complete interview.)

The focus on speed, cost, and quality are driving advances in materials, software, and equipment. According to Phillips, " SLA users want the technology found in the big SLA machines to be put into the small platform SLA 250 machines. 3D Systems has just introduced a small platform machine with this technology."

These new machines feature a "high-powered dual spot size laser, which allows you to produce very fine, detailed parts," Phillips explains, and they are also "NT equipped instead of DOS and have all kinds of new innovations. Shifting the technology from the big SLA machines to the smaller ones has been a huge innovation for us."

"RP vendors must...be able to build systems that model with multiple materials," states Jon Cobb, vice president of Stratasys. "Manufacturers know which materials deliver the best results to their customers. RP-system vendors must work to satisfy the users' material demands in order to give them what they need to succeed. On the other hand, RP manufacturers must keep simplifying RP system software to make it as intuitive to use as are today's popular consumer software applications." Stratasys' Insight software for FDM RP systems, pictured, includes "part editing, drag and drop model uploading, user notification (via pager or e-mail) when a part is complete, and various build options to deliver speed or very fine feature detail and part finish." (Click here for complete interview.)

Adds Cobb: "Today's products typically contain a blend of ABS and polycarbonate or ABS and glass fiber. Future innovations in store for users include delivering RP systems that build models in the exotic material blends that customers use in their end-products." Cobb also foresees an "inexpensive modeling system...affordable enough to reside on the designer's desk, as a paper printer does today. In the future, instead of producing a flat, 2D paper print for early iterations, the designer will print or produce a solid, 3D part right off the bat rather than going to paper first."

Taute believes RP is moving toward user-friendly interfaces. "Because of the lack of craftsmanship, new technologies will need to be user-friendly," she contends. "The one-button approach, with total closed-loop processes is a key consideration." Optomec's LENS technology can "create multiple material structures in gradient or embedded fashions," Taute adds. "We have also developed a way to create conformal cooling channels that will enable mold designers to integrate the channels in 3-dimensional fashion. Both of these methods will increase productivity for injection molders by decreasing cycle-time."

According to Z Corp's Hatsopoulos, "full color capability has just been introduced and the quality of the color will make significant strides in the coming months. Once the market gets used to color, the monochrome parts will seem inadequate as means for communication." Z Corp wants "software to be able to handle a variety of files from different sources," Hatsopoulos says. Its company's 3D Printing technology "fabricates physical three-dimensional models directly from a computer file," the CEO points out.

Phillips believes RP is "entering a new era in e-manufacturing. Service bureaus and web sites allow people to upload a file and right on the same page, you can select if you want an SLA or SLS model, choose your material, and number of parts required. The software calculates, and your price pops up giving you an opportunity to purchase the part."

Hatsopoulos cautions that the "materials and part quality are not yet available from any technology to manufacture final end-use parts in metal or plastic through rapid prototyping." Still, "Z Corp's technology is able to meet the requirements for e-design or 3D fax."

Remote RP is the next step, says Taute. "In lieu of keeping time to market at a desirable level, there will have to be methods by which file transfers are completed in timely fashions. In addition, the equipment that makes these parts would be remotely operated and controlled with little human intervention."

And RP technology is no longer earthbound. "Several months ago NASA sent a Stratasys FDM system into space, simulating a zero-gravity environment," Cobb notes. "Their tests, which were very successful, were a precursor to e-manufacturing parts in space. And if it can be done successfully in space, we can find a way to make it cost-effective here on earth."

Indeed, RP could well become the centerpiece of mass customization. "A few manufacturers are finally seeing the opportunity that [this] technology can bring to custom-made production parts," observes John A. Choren, director of the Rapid Prototyping Consortium at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. (Click here for details.)

He points to Align Technology Inc's Invisalign orthodontal process. In this technology, a patient's impression is scanned into a digital image. SLA take up to 30 iterations of this CAD file to create patterns "over which flexible polycarbonate aligners are formed" and then dispensed to patients over time. "Use of similar technology for the manufacture of custom, high-cost parts will become more common, particularly if Invisalign is a commercial success," Choren predicts.