Design, Planning, Machining, and Manufacturing Using Rapid Prototyping Technologies in Modern Engineering

The term rapid prototyping (RP) refers to a class of technologies that are used to produce physical objects
layer-by-layer directly from computer aided design (CAD) data. These techniques allow designers to
produce tangible protons of their designs quickly, rather than just two-dimensional pictures. Besides
visual aids for communicating ideas with co-workers or customers, these prototypes can be used to most
various aspects of their design, such as wind tunnel tests and dimensional checks. In addition to the
production of prototypes, rapid prototyping techniques can also produce molds or mold inserts (rapid
tooling) and even fully functional end parts (rapid manufacturing).
In rapid prototyping, the term “rapid” is relative; it aims at the automated step from CAD data to
machine, rather than at the speed of the techniques. Depending on the dimensions of the object,
production times can be as long as a few days, especially with complex parts or when long cooling times
are required. This may seem slow, but it is still much faster than the time required by traditional
production techniques, such as machining. This relatively face production allows analyzing parts in a
very early stage of designing, which decreases the resulting design cost. The costs can also be reduced
because rapid prototyping processes are may automated and therefore, this need the skill of individual
craftsmen for no more than finishing the part.