Areas Of Rapid Prototyping Research Articles

3D printing as a tool for predicting the mechanical-functional behavior of components and mechanical systems.

Rapid prototyping is a technology that can automatically construct physical models from Computer Aided Design (CAD) data or is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. This technic allows to minimize the possible human mistakes caused by a bad operator intervention, and represents a significant saving thanks to its accuracy, providing excellent visual aids for communicating ideas with co-workers or customers apart from design testing. The rapid prototyping area, where 3D models are converted into real models through different systems of manufacture, explores the possibilities offered by this technology for an engineer to design systems and devices before its final construction. As result it is observed an ostensible reduction in mechanical systems development times and its components; since functionality and usability of with rapid prototyping these corrections can be made. This document provides information about the use of Rapid Prototyping for specimens’ preparation and general configurations for construction of functional models.

Environmental, health, and safety issues in rapid prototyping

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the potential impacts of rapid prototyping systems on the health and safety of operators and the environment, a growing concern given its wide-spread use in industry and academia. Design/methodology/approach – Materials, processing and equipment features were used to identify potential health and safety risks and hazards, as well as environmental effects. Findings – The study concludes with a “best practices” guide for rapid prototyping laboratories and service bureaus. Originality/value – A thorough literature search revealed that Stephen M. Deak, the Rapid Prototyping Department Manager at Hasbro Inc., is the pioneer of the safety and health concerns in the rapid prototyping area. He is the only person to publish papers in this field in addition to these authors’ recent publications. His papers focused on the rapid prototyping laboratory safety guidelines and safe work practices in the rapid prototyping area.

Selected Experimental Tests of Materials Used in Rapid Prototyping Area

Selected Experimental Tests of Materials Used in Rapid Prototyping Area

The Use of Stereolithography in Alveolar Reconstruction With Mandibular Block Bone Grafts

Recently, stereolithography (SL), one of the most diffused techniques in the rapid prototyping area, has been used to realize surgical guides for the corrected positioning of dental grafts. This paper presents a methodology for the design and fabrication of stereolithographic surgical guides useful in alveolar reconstruction with mandibular block bone grafts. The integration between medical imaging techniques and SL was achieved. The surgical guides built with a SL machine were used as tools for surgical operations. This methodology allowed obtaining the maximum respect of the contiguous anatomical structures, the extraction of a limited amount of bone, a remarkable reduction of the operation time, and no alteration of teeth and inferior lip sensibility. The extraction and the positioning of onlay grafts within the chin resulted to be more precise and predictable using stereolithographic surgical guides.

A method to formalise the rapid prototyping process

Facing the increasing complexity of the product design area (reduction of cycle times, introduction of simultaneous engineering and of digital mock-up, . . .) a research department which wants to define a rapid prototyping process is confronted by the problem of the tools choice. Therefore, we will propose in this article a method allowing such a process. In a first section, we present the rapid prototyping area in the product design environment, in a second section we will propose our method illustrated by an industrial case.