Experience of rapid prototyping technologies usage for moulding case parts

Abstract

Time required for making prototypes of automobiles, engines, transmissions and other components becomes crucial for staying competitive in the modern automobile industry. Development of the Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology, based on 3D computer modelling has revolutionized the design processes. RP opens possibility to materialize CAD data by using CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) techniques. The advantage of the new technology is its ability to store complete digital information describing an object and use it to create a physical prototype. Today almost all automotive companies widely use RP method, but the fastest development takes place in the field of test sample making. RP greatly shortens the time between development and production phases and thus provides a key advantage in competition despite relatively high cost of the required special equipment. © 2006 Springer.