TRIZ-Based Design of Rapid 3D Modelling Techniques with Formative Manufacturing Processes

Abstract

By accelerating the new product development process, manufacturers remain competitive (Zailani et al. 2007). Physical modelling helps in this decision making process by allowing real visualization of information about the thing the model represents (Kupka 2010). Two particular three-dimensional techniques are used in physical modelling, mock-up and prototyping. A mock-up is a scale or real-size model of a design or device, used to teach, demonstrate, evaluate, and promote among other purposes. A prototype is a physical model with the most important system functionalities implemented on it. Therefore, a prototype may be used as proof of concept for the new product. A mock-up is less expensive since it requires less material and less time to be built. Most of the mock-up techniques remain free handwork based. Some of the materials used for mock-up are clay, paper, wood, plastic, and metal. A mock-up is considered a prototype if it provides some functionality of a system and allows the test of a design. Several rapid prototyping techniques have been proposed to accelerate the new product development process (Chua et al. 2010). Rapid prototyping is defined as the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology. Rapid prototyping is also known as solid freeform fabrication, rapid manufacturing, layered manufacturing, additive fabrication, additive manufacturing or rapid manufacturing. Because the quality of the final product obtained by rapid prototyping, it has extended its original intend to discrete manufacturing a nd fine-art applications. The traditional process includes a computer-aided design stage that convert the three-dimensional object into two-dimensional layers, then the rapid prototyping machine builds the three-dimensional object by depositing each two-dimensional layer by means of depositing liquid, powder, or sheet material which are joined together to produce the final version of the three-dimensional object. The main advantage of additive manufacturing is the ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature (Chua et al. 2010). Most of the rapid prototyping techniques have been automated. Because most of the rapid prototyping techniques built a mock-up instead of a real prototype, we think the term has been misused. Strictly speaking, rapid mock-up should be used instead of rapid prototyping. If the new concept is in the first stages of design (i.e. the ideation stage), a