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Rapid prototyping: a model for future manufacturing?
July 24, 1996
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. EDTFrom Correspondent Dick Wilson
DAYTON, Ohio (CNN) -- A prototype is by definition the first full-scale working model of something new. Scientists at the University of Dayton are working with a prototype that could that could turn out to be the next wave in futuristic manufacturing. Ultimately, it could also make custom products more cost-efficient for the average consumer.
Their prototype is actually a computer-generated manufacturing system that automates the building of small, specialized parts. The researchers in Dayton used a fast-moving laser cutter to demonstrate the quick production of a few, very complex parts.
"If you need to make a million of anything, most likely you can do it economically," said Don Klosterman, a research engineer. "But if you need to make a hundred of something, then it becomes cost-prohibitive. That's what this machine is all about: making a few parts that are very complex."
The machine quickly built a model used in making tiny surgical scissors by laminating several layers of paper, then cutting them with the laser beam, layer by layer.
"We automate the whole thing and can get the model made up in a matter of hours or days, where it might take an operator several weeks to make the same thing," said Professor Richard Chartoff at the University of Dayton.
When the final product emerges, layers are peeled away to reveal the model for the scissors. From that, molds can be made to make the final product out of ceramics.
The process would have taken much longer with traditional machining and mold-making methods.
"The idea here is that with the process you can take the actual object, make a computer model of the object and then you can design a mold for it based on the same dimensions," Chartoff said.
The rapid prototyping machine can quickly crank out a wide array of products, everything from body armor to a golf club, and both can be custom-sized according to the user's body type.
It makes manufacturers more responsive to customer demands, and more cost efficient; both are key elements in the art of agile manufacturing.
"One of the trends in modern industry now is to have very limited inventories of parts," Chartoff added. "So you can do agile manufacturing, going from manufacturing one type of thing to another very quickly. This fits in to that kind of scenario very nicely."
Right now, rapid prototyping is used commercially to produce three-dimensional models for product molding.
The next big step could come as soon as next year. Plans call for turning rapid prototyping into a full-scale production device for all sorts of useful products.
Related story:
- Future of manufacturing may go to the 'agile' - July 8, 1996
Related sites:
- Agile Manufacturing from Livermore Labs
- Agile Manufacturing Information Infrastructure
- Advanced Collaborative Open Resource Network (ACORN)
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