MECH WORLD

The ability to construct accurate, easily modified models is helping make manufacturers more competitive. Stereolithography, photochemical machining, laser sintering, and laminated-object manufacturing use 3D CAD data to produce models in hours. Most of these processes make parts from plastic. Models can be built from layers of liquid plastic, fused from plastic powders, or cut from partially cured polymer. Though large manufacturers increasingly have rapid-prototyping capabilities in house, smaller firms generally work with service bureaus to obtain fast prototyping. Here are some things to keep in mind when working these outside vendors. CAD drawings:  What you send the service bureau ­ 2D drawings, CAD files, or STL files determines the amount you pay in up-front processing costs. And these costs could vary dramatically depending on the CAD program the bureau uses to make your data machine ready. For example, sending only 2D drawings of a part to be fabricat...

Why Rapid Prototyping? The reasons of Rapid Prototyping are To increase effective communication. To decrease development time. To decrease costly mistakes. To minimize sustaining engineering changes. To extend product lifetime by adding necessary features and eliminating redundant features early in the design. Rapid Prototyping decreases development time by allowing corrections to a product to be made early in the process. By giving engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and purchasing a look at the product early in the design process, mistakes can be corrected and changes can be made while they are still inexpensive. The trends in manufacturing industries continue to emphasize the following:   • Increasing number of variants of products. • Increasing product complexity. • Decreasing product lifetime before obsolescence. • Decreasing delivery time. Rapid Prototyping improves product development by enabling better communication in a concurrent engi...

Rapid prototyping  is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional  computer aided design  ( CAD ) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using  3D printing  or "additive layer manufacturing" technology. The first methods for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce  models  and  prototype parts. Today, they are used for a wide range of applications and are used to  manufacture  production-quality parts in relatively small numbers if desired without the typical unfavorable short-run economics. This economy has encouraged online service bureaus. Historical surveys of RP technology start with discussions of simulacra production techniques used by 19th-century sculptors. Some modern  sculptors  use the progeny technology to produce  exhibitions . The ability to reproduce desi...