Rapid Prototyping

Introduction to RP

Dr.K. Balamurugan
Associate Professor
Dept. of Mech. Engg.
Syllabus
Introduction
Liquid based and solid based RP
Powder based RP systems
Reverse Engineering and CAD modelling
Rapid Tooling

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Production Evolution

50s 60s 70s 80s 90s

Flexible Time-Compression
Mass Production Manufacturing Technology
Cost Down Systems Time to Market
Fast Change, Small
Batch

Batch Production Computer-

Quality Integrated
Manufacturing
Total Integration
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 Typical Product Development Cycle
Serial
Conceptual Detail Engineering Tooling &
Prototyping
Design Design Analysis production

Conceptual Design 3D CAD Concurrent

Modeling
Detail Design

Virtual Prototyping VR &FEA

Time
Engineering Analysis
Saving
Prototyping RP & M
Time-Compression
Engineering Tooling &Production
RP ver 1.0 4
Challenges of today’s Industry
Reducing time to market (automobile, 40%
within 10 years)
Competitive market place (car mfg)
Changes in customers’ aspirations
High quality products (6 sigma)
Rapid prototyping is one among the
newer technologies to address the above
issues.

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Why do we need a Prototype?
A picture is worth a thousand words.

One real prototype is worth a thousand

pictures!
Prototype
Pre-production model (trial product)
Assessment of key risk items
 customer reaction
 durability

 fit and finish

 manufacturing problems

 assembly costs

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Two prototype types
Prototype as master model
 high quality as possible
 built to validate the design
 production tries to mimic quality in prototype
Prototype as problem detector
 built with production equipment
 built to validate the design under production
conditions

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Three Stages of Prototyping
Concept
 aesthetics
 shape

Function
 performance
Production
 producibility

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Conceptual prototypes what
does the customer think
Industrial design - “look and feel”
Renderings - sketch
Sketch models - quick 3-D sketch
Foam models - models that have the look
and feel but no functionality

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Functional Prototypes Does it
function correctly (I)
Virtual
 CAD/CAM, CAE (computer-aided engineering)
 Carrying out the analysis and simulation of
products employing digital mock-ups
Physical
 Test the function of parts and assemblies
 Crash test samples
 Breadboards
Piece Part
individual sub-systems
simulate individual part behavior
 durability tests on intermediate shafts
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Functional Prototypes Does it
function correctly (II)
System
 the whole product
 how the whole system works together
Verification / Conformance testing
 does it function
Robustness / representative testing
does it function under
stress
process variation
time

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Production Prototypes Can
you produce it efficiently
Made using production equipment
Used to highlight risk of expensive
assemblies
Very expensive because tooling is
expensive

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Characteristics of Prototypes

Fidelity of prototype
Time to create the prototype
Cost to create the prototype

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Fidelity: How accurately does
the prototype represent
Function, look, or production intent
Examples
 Sterolithography - good at look, medium at
function, bad at production intent
 soft tooling - good at look, medium at

function, medium at production intent

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Prototype Time
Drives learning cycles
Correlated with changes in the design
Size, Complexity of the model

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Cost
Prototypes are expensive
 Time to make (machine cost / hr)
 labor cost
 Materials
 Tooling

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Fabrication Processes (I)
Subtractive  Chipping
 Start with a solid block.  Milling, drilling,
Remove material until turning, planing, ...
the desired shape is  Shearing
reached.  Punching,
notching, ...
 Abrasion
 Grinding, sanding,
polishing, ...
 Ablation
 EDM, laser cutting, ...
 Dissolution
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 Chemical machining,
Fabrication Processes (II)
Additive
 Successive pieces
combine in the right
form to make up the
desired object.
Formative
 Mechanical forces
applied to a material
and form it into the
desired shape.
 e.g. bending of sheet,
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molding of molten or
Subtractive vs. Additive
Advantages of Advantages of Add.
Sub. over Add. over Sub.
 Accuracy  Unlimited
 Surface finish geometrical
complexity
 Efficient bulk
fabrication  Engineered
millistructure
 Material versatility
 Unattended
 Large build
operation
envelopes
 Wasteless
 Structural integrity 20
Subtractive vs. Additive

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Combining Material addition
with Material removal

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What is Rapid Prototyping?
Rapid Prototyping (RP)
 It refers to a class of technologies for Quick
fabrication of a prototype part from a 3-D
CAD models.
 Eg. Stereolithography, Fusion Deposition
Modeling, Laminated Object Manufacturing
etc.

01/01/2004 RP ver 1.0 23

Attributes of RP Processes
They can build arbitrarily complex 3D
geometries.
The process planning is automatic, based on
a CAD model.
They use generic fabrication machine, i.e. do
not require part-specific fixturing or tooling
They require minimal or no human
intervention to operate.

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Solid Freeform Fabrication (I)
The goal of rapid mechanical
prototyping (RP) is to be able to quickly
fabricate complex-shaped, three-
dimensional parts directly from CAD
models.
One approach for accomplishing this is
to use solid freeform fabrication (SFF)
processes.
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Solid Freeform Fabrication (II)
SFF methodologies have the following
attributes:
 they can build arbitrarily complex 3D geometries
 the process planning is automatic, based on a

CAD model
 they use a generic fabrication machine, i.e., do

not require part-specific fixturing or tooling

 they require minimal or no human intervention to

operate
Current SFF systems are based upon a
layered manufacturing paradigm
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Early SFF

Powder laser process proposed by Ciraud (1972)

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Current SFF – Layered
Manufacturing

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Inability of current SFF
processes
produce parts with the accuracy and
surface finish required for many
engineering models,
build with a wide variety of engineering
materials, and
directly produce high-quality metal
parts for production tooling
applications.

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RP Vs RC (Rapid Cutting
Process)

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RP Enabling Technologies

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Solid Freeform Fabrication
Technologies

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Other Terms of RP
Desktop manufacturing
Solid freeform fabrication
Layered Manufacturing
Automated fabrication
Tool-less manufacturing

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Layer by layer technique

Conversion of a solid model of an object into layers (only one

layer is shown).

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Early Roots - Topography
Blanther in 1892
suggested a layered
method for making a mold
for topographical relief
maps.
The method consists of
impressing topographical
contour lines on a series of
wax plates, cutting the
wax plates on the contour
lines, and then stacking
and smoothing the wax
sections.

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Early Roots - Photosculpture
Frenchman François Willème (1860s): circular room, 24
cameras, carved out 1/24th of a cylindrical portion
Baese (1902): used graduated light to expose photosensitive
gelatin
Monteah (1922): develop similar techniques and improvements
Morioka (1933, 1940) : combined photosculpture and
topography
Munz (1951): system with features of current stereolithography
techniques
(http://itri.loyola.edu/rp/03_01.htm)

RP ver 1.0 36
Early Days - Patents

SLA

LOM

FDM

3DP

RP ver 1.0 37
 Commercial RP Systems
Laser Fabrication Hybrid Nozzle Fabrication

Laser cutting Laser sintering Laser curing OBJET Binder Thermoplastic

jetting jetting

LENS SLS SLA SLP SGC

DSPC
Actura

LOM EOSINT SOUP EDARTS

3DP
FDM

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Laminated object manufacture

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Selective laser sintering

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Fused deposition modelling

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Solid ground curing

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Stereolithgraphy

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Thermojet

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When do we NOT use RP?
Simple parts that can be done easily and
efficiently by other methods
High surface resolution is required
Material issues
Special functions and part features
Large size of models
Consideration

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Importance of RP in Product
Development
Time and cost saving
 Shorten time to market, reduce product
development time
 Reduce cost in prototyping stage
 e.g. engine development: 6 months 6 weeks;
50% costs saving
Design improvement
 Visualization, Verification, Iteration, Optimization
Fabrication
 Rapid tooling
 Small quantity parts
Customization
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List of Abbreviations
SLA: Stereolithography Apparatus
SLS: Selective Laser Sintering
LOM: Laminated Object Manufacturing
FDM: Fused Deposition Modeling
3DP: 3D Printing
SGC: Solid Ground Curing
LENS: Laser Engineered Net Shaping
DSPC: Direct Shell Production Casting
EOSINT: EOS’s laser sintering system
SLP: Solid Laser Plotter, (JP Denken, SL)
SOUP: Solid Object Ultraviolet Laser Plotting, (JP,
CMET’s SL)
EDARTS: JP Autostrade’s SL system
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Prototype - Manufacturing
Design the prototype on CAD
Build the prototype with RP
Inspect the RP part for errors
Correct the errors in CAD
Verify the corrected RP part
Iterate using RP to improve the design
Optimize, testing multiple RP design variations
Fabricate a functional test model (FTM)
Perform testing on the FTM
When satisfactory proceed for manufacturing
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Basic process of RP
Three stages: pre-processing, building, and
post processing

CAD Model Pre Process RP Process Post Process

Surface/Solid Generate Build Remove

Model .STL file Prototype Supports

in CAD Build Supports Clean

if needed Surface
Post Cure if needed
in RP
systems Slicing
Part Completed
Basic process of RP

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Create a CAD model of the
design
3D model development in CAD package
 Pro Engineer (Solid Modelers)
 AutoCAD (Wire frame modelers)
 Ideas (Solid Modelers)
Existing file / New file

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Convert the CAD model to STL format

Variation in solid model representation algorithms

STL format - Standard solid model representation
technique for RP systems
STL format represents a three-dimensional surface as
an assembly of planar triangles, "like the facets of a
cut jewel”
Increasing the number of triangles improves the
approximation, but at the cost of bigger file size
designer must balance accuracy with manageability

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Slice the STL file
Pre-processing
 Size, location, orientation of the model
 Weaker and less accurate in Z direction
 Time required to built the model
Slicing software
 STL -> SLI
 0.01 mm to 0.7 mm thick
 auxiliary structure to support the model
 overhangs, internal cavities, and thin-
walled sections
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Layer by Layer Construction
Actual construction of the part using
any one of the RP system
Polymers, paper, or powdered metal
Most machines are fairly autonomous,
needing little human intervention

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Clean and Finish
Post-processing
 removing the prototype from the machine
and detaching any supports
 Some photosensitive materials need to be
fully cured before use
 Prototypes may also require minor cleaning
and surface treatment
 Sanding, sealing, and/or painting the
model will improve its appearance and
durability
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Some issues in RP
Because of layer by layer deposition of the
material and due to the finite thickness of
each layer, situation similar to stair case will
be resulting on the surface and this effect is
known as Stair stepping effect.
From the figures it can be seen that layer
thickness will directly affect the maximum
cusp height attained and the stair case effect
on the surface.

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Staircase effect in RP Parts

Effect of layer thickness on stair stepping effect

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Digital Prototyping
Digital Prototyping gives conceptual
design, engineering, manufacturing, sales and
marketing departments the ability to virtually
explore a complete product.
Digital Prototyping goes beyond simply
creating product designs in 3D.
It gives product development teams a way to
assess the operation of moving parts, to
determine whether or not the product will
fail, and see how the various product
components interact with subsystems—either
pneumatic or electric.
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Digital Prototyping
By simulating and validating the real-world
performance of a product design digitally,
manufacturers often can reduce the
number of physical prototypes they need
to create before a product can be
manufactured, reducing the cost and time
needed for physical prototyping.
Many companies use Digital Prototyping in
place of, or as a complement to, physical
prototyping.
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Digital Prototyping
Digital Prototyping changes the
traditional product development cycle
from design>build>test>fix to
design>analyze>test>build.
Software
 Autodesk,
 Dassault Systems,
 PTC,
 Siemens PLM Software,
 and Rhinoceros
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Virtual Prototyping
Virtual prototyping is a technique in the
process of product development.
Engineers and scientists use virtual
prototyping to design, optimize, validate,
and visualize their products digitally and
evaluate different design concepts before
committing to making a physical prototype.
Virtual Prototyping (VP), otherwise also
known as simulation-based-design, refers to
the iterative design refinement of a designed
product using a computer-based functional
physical simulation(s).
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Virtual Prototyping
Virtual engineering is defined as integrating
geometric models and related engineering tools
such as analysis, simulation, optimization, and
decision making tools, etc., within a
computer-generated environment that facilitates
multidisciplinary collaborative product
development.
Virtual engineering shares many characteristics
with software engineering, such as the ability to
obtain many different results through different
implementations.
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Computed Aided Design (CAD)
It designate the capability to model a
geometry using geometric operations that can
be close to real life industrial machining
process such as revolution, dressing,
extruding.
The CAD module is made to ease the
generation of a geometrical shape. It comes
usually with other modules, such as an
engineering drawing making tool.

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Computed Aided
Manufacturing (CAM)
Even if the CAD provide an accurate virtual
shape of the objects or parts, the manufacturing
of these can be far different, just because the
previous tool just dealt with perfect
mathematical operation (perfect point, lines,
plan, volumes).
To take into account in a more realistic manner
of the succession of manufacturing operations
and to be able to certify that the end product will
be close to the virtual model, engineers make
use of a manufacturing module which represent
a tool that machine the parts. 70
Computed Aided Engineering
(CAE) 
Another aspect is integrated in a Virtual
engineering tool, which is the engineering
analysis (finite element analysis of strains, stress,
temperature distribution, flow etc.). Such tool
can be integrated to the main software or
separated.
It is usual that the CAE modules software
dedicated to that task, having less features in the
CAD aspect. Often the tools can perform
import/export to make the most of the each tool.

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Summary
Introduction to TCT
Prototype – def., types, characteristics
Rapid Prototype – Basic process
Various RP techniques
Benefits of RP
Digital and Virtual prototype

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