Rapid manufacturing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rapid Manufacturing is an additive fabrication technique for manufacturing solid objects by the sequential delivery of energy and/or material to specified points in space to produce that part. Current practice is to control the manufacturing process by computer using a mathematical model created with the aid of a computer. Rapid Manufacturing done in parallel batch production can provide a large advantage in speed and cost compared to alternative manufacturing techniques such as plastic injection molding or die casting. Rapid Manufacturing may involve custom parts, replacement parts, short run production, or series production. (When the part is used in the development process only, the appropriate term is Rapid Prototyping.)

Rapid Manufacturing for large products with layer-based manufacturing from metals, plastics, or composite materials is well known for several industrial applications in the military (MPH-Optomec) and aerospace (Boeing) sectors. Small products and microsystem applications are known in medical (Siemens) as well as diagnostics and sensor technologies (microTEC). Batch production of very small parts by rapid manufacturing techniques like RMPD offer cost and time advantages. Increasingly, rapid manufacturing is being applied to automotive, motor sports, jewelry, dentistry, orthodontics, medicine, consumer products, and collectibles.

[edit] References

Hopkinson, N. , Hague, R. , Dickens, P. (2005). Rapid Manufacturing (Abstract). Germany: Wiley-VCH.
Wright, Paul K. (2001). 21st Century manufacturing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Wohlers, T. (2007). Wohlers Report 2007. Wohlers Associates, Inc.
Reinhardt et all. (2007) Freedom of Manufacturing by parallel batch production, technical and economical advantages for microsystems. Proceedings of the 1st European DAAAM International Young Researchers and Scientists Conference 24-27th October 2007 DAAAM