Rapid prototyping in manufacturing

Abstract

Rapid prototyping (RP) is any process utilized to quickly fabricate a physical prototype or scale model of a design directly from three-dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) data. The additive RP process allows designers to create a three-dimensional geometry directly from CAD data by slicing that geometry into finite layers and fabricating the prototype one layer at a time. The processes are also referred to as additive manufacturing because parts are created by adding each fabricated layer to the whole part, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing wherein material is removed in some fashion from a solid medium. There are many forms of rapid prototyping: additive manufacturing (AM), also known as three-dimensional printing (3DP or 3D printing); rapid molding or quick injection molding; rapid machining or rapid CNC; and several other technology classes. The increasing prevalence of additive technologies on the market has caused international standards organizations to begin creating common terminology and standards for these technologies. The ASTM International Committee F42 on Additive Manufacturing Technologies has categorized the various forms of additive manufacturing into seven groups: material extrusion, material jetting, binder jetting, sheet lamination, vat photopolymerization, powder bed fusion, and directed energy deposition. Rapid prototyping applications of additive manufacturing technology provide value to businesses in four primary ways: reducing time to market by compressing product design cycles, lowering cost of product development by exposing design problems earlier in the design cycle, improving creativity and innovation in product designs by increasing the ability to rapidly evaluate and iterate design concepts, and increasing competitive advantage by keeping design plans and data internal to the organization until later in the product development process. The most efficient product development processes can utilize multiple prototyping technologies so that the right solution is available for each step in the product design process.