Rapid Prototyping Equipment & Systems

Description

Rapid prototyping equipment & systems are used for making product examples before they are manufactured for market place. Rapid prototyping equipment makes use of virtual designs from animation modeling or computer aided design (CAD) software, converts them into slender, virtual, horizontal cross-sections and to create every cross-section in physical space. It may take several hours or days to construct a model, depending on the model’s size and complexity and the method used. Some of the technologies used in rapid prototyping machines include selective laser sintering (SLS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), 3D printing (3DP), fused deposition modeling (FDM) and electron beam melting (EBM). The base materials used in making rapid prototype machine are thermoplastics, eutectic metals, paper, titanium alloys, photopolymer and metals powders.

Types

Based on technology, rapid prototyping equipment are classified as follows:

• Stereolithography
• Rapid injection molding
• Casting
• Room temperature vulcanizing
• Computer aided manufacturing

Advantages

The advantages of using rapid prototyping equipment are as follows

• Decreasing development time by facilitating corrections to be made in a product at the initial stage
• Extending product lifetime by incorporating necessary features and removing redundant features in the early stages of design
• Enhancing product development by facilitating better communication in a synchronized engineering environment
• Decreases delivery time
• Minimizes sustaining engineering changes
• Increases effective communication

Applications

• Rapid prototyping equipments find applications in various sectors, including motor vehicles, business machines, academic, aerospace, consumer products, medical, government and military
• Sculptors utilize rapid prototyping machines to produce intricate shapes for arts exhibitions
• Rapid prototyping equipments are used in prototyping high speed printed circuit boards (PCBs), for checking their quality and functionality before mass-manufacturing
• Rapid prototyping machine also find applications in prototyping, rapid manufacturing and rapid tooling