Rapid prototyping is an automated process that builds prototype models using additive methods such as selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), and three-dimensional (3D) printing. This process allows designers to evaluate their designs, identify defects, and demonstrate the concept. The most popular techniques use metals, thermoplastics, and photopolymers to gradually build the prototype layer by layer.
Rapid prototyping is a family of additive manufacturing processes used to assemble prototype models. These processes are known as additive methods, as material is added to the model during construction rather than cut away from a solid block. General-purpose members of this family include selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), and three-dimensional (3D) printing (3DP). Laminated object manufacturing (LOM), fused deposition modeling (FDM), and electron beam fusion (EBM) are also among the most common rapid prototyping processes. All of these processes are automated and performed by computer-controlled machinery that reads data from the prototype’s CAD (Computer Aided Design) models.
Prototyping is the practice of building models of new products or revisions of existing products before final approval and full-scale production. This process allows designers and developers to evaluate their designs, identify defects or omissions, and demonstrate the concept to all interested parties. Understandably, prototyping is a critical part of any design process, often resulting in significant time and budget savings. Rapid prototyping is one of the most popular methods used to build prototype models. The process is additive, meaning that the machines used add material to the model as the building progresses, as opposed to subtractive processes which cut material away from a blank block.
There are several rapid prototyping techniques in general use that use metals, thermoplastics, and photopolymers to gradually build the prototype, layer by layer, from scratch. One of the most popular is selective laser sintering (SLS), which uses a high-power carbon dioxide laser to melt plastic, ceramic, or glass powder into the finished model. The laser works in a pattern that exactly mimics a CAD model stored in the machine’s computer controller, turning the powder into a solid body as it goes. Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is a similar process using metal powders.
Another commonly used rapid prototyping process that works in a similar way is stereolithography. This process uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser that moves through a tank of photopolymer resin formulated to cure, or harden, when exposed to UV light. As the laser traces the shape stored in the CAD file, the resin solidifies, progressively building the prototype model. One of the most significant recent developments in rapid prototyping is the three-dimensional (3D) printing process, which involves an inkjet printer depositing successive layers of powdered resin and binders to progressively build the desired shape. There are also many other processes used in rapid prototyping that, while they have subtle process differences, all share the same progressive, additive model building technique.
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