Stereolithography and Other Rp&m Technologies: From Rapid Prototyping to Rapid Tooling

by Paul Jacobs

Find out how this "desktop manufacturing" concept is helping design teams visualize parts faster and build solid objects with high-precision results in just hours. Get an in-depth look at many recent innovations achieved by rapid prototyping and manufacturing technology, including: advances in materials, hardware, software, part accuracy, and surface finish; soft tooling applications; RP&M patterns of direct shell investment casting; and developments in rapid hard tooling. Case studies provide real-world examples of the uses of these technologies in industry, including the application of RP&M at Texas Instruments, Inc., Sandia National Laboratories, and the Ford Motor Company, as well as some novel applications involving flow and visualization, photoelastic stress testing, dynamic vibration analysis, and surgical pre-planning in the medical field. Detailed step-by-step procedures are provided to assist users in generating soft and hard tooling. Finally, a chapter devoted to RP&M service bureaus includes an extensive directory of companies in North America that currently provide CAD modeling, rapid prototyping, and various secondary processes.

425 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995