View the Index...

1. INTRODUCTION ..... 3

Applications ..... 4

Engineering ..... 4
Rapid Manufacturing ..... 4

Metal Parts ..... 4
Ceramic Parts ..... 5
Plastic Parts ..... 5

Manufacturing Tooling ..... 6
Medical Applications ..... 6
Art and Architecture ..... 7

Alternative Processes & Technologies ..... 7

Stereolithography ..... 10

Selective Laser Sintering ..... 11

Three Dimensional Printing ..... 13

Fused Deposition Modeling ..... 14

Inkjets ..... 15
    Thermal Phase-Change Inkjets ..... 15
    Photopolymer Phase Change Inkjets ..... 16

Laminated Object Manufacturing ..... 17

Laser Powder Forming ..... 18

3D Printers vs. Rapid Prototyping Machines ..... 19
    What is the difference between an RP machine & a 3D printer? ..... 19

3D Printers Selling for Less Than $20,000 ..... 21
    Which is the best 3D printer? ..... 21

Extending Additive Fabrication Material Capabilities ..... 24

Do I really need Additive Fabrication? Do I have other choices? ..... 31

What are the limitations? ..... 34

Accuracy ..... 34

Stairstepping ..... 34
Absolute Accuracy / Precision ..... 36
Finishes ..... 37
Resolution ..... 38
Secondary Operations ..... 40
Speed ..... 43

What's all this going to cost? ..... 44

Materials ..... 44
    Plastics ..... 44
    Metals ..... 46
    Other Materials ..... 49

OK, it looks like Additive Fabrication is appropriate.
Now what? ..... 51

Service Bureaus and How to Select One ..... 51

Engineering ..... 55

Concept Modeling ..... 56
Concept Models For Parts Which Will Eventually Be Injection Molded ..... 56
Quick Print / Concept Models ..... 57
Functional Testing of Plastic Parts ..... 57
Metal Tooling and Parts; Injection Molds ..... 58
Sand Casting ..... 59
Investment Casting ..... 60
Die Casting ..... 61

Rapid Manufacturing ..... 62

Plastic Parts ..... 62
Metal Parts ..... 63
Technologies for Specialized RM Applications ..... 64

Medicine and Dentistry ..... 65

Art, Architecture, Industrial Design ..... 67

Scientific Applications ..... 72

Introduction ..... 77

Definition ..... 77
Present Status ..... 77
Advantages and Disadvantages ..... 77

Arguments Against Mass customization ..... 79

Market Potential ..... 80

Technologies for rapid manufacturing ..... 81

Applications of Rapid Manufacturing ..... 83

Tooling ..... 83
Industrial Applications ..... 83

Other Applications in Industry ..... 85
Biological, Biomedical and Chemistry Applications ..... 87

Arrays and Chips ..... 87
Biological Equipment ..... 87
Transportation ..... 88

Aerospace ..... 88
Marine ..... 90
Automotive ..... 90
Architecture and Construction ..... 92

Architectural Models ..... 92
Architectural Components ..... 92
Building Construction ..... 93
Post-Post-(Post?) Modernism ..... 93
Military Weapons and Parts ..... 94
Medical ..... 95

Prosthetics and Implants ..... 95
Tissue Engineering ..... 97
Pharmaceuticals ..... 97
Dental Applications ..... 98
Medical Devices ..... 99
Sports ..... 102
Consumer Items ..... 103

Sculptural Products ..... 103
Fashion Items and Home Furnishings ..... 103
Textiles ..... 105
Electronics ..... 106

MICE and Direct Writing ..... 107
Photonics ..... 108
Advanced Materials ..... 108

Challenges, Barriers and Research Directions ..... 110

Rapid Manufacturing; A Brief Synopsis ..... 115

Rapid Tooling; An Application of Rapid Manufacturing ..... 116

Plastic or Polymer Parts ..... 117

Injection Molds & Metal Parts ..... 119

Commercially-available Processes ..... 120
Alternative Approaches ..... 126
Rapid Injection Molding ..... 128
Under Development, Dormant or Abandoned Processes ..... 129

Metal Castings ..... 132

Investment Castings ..... 132
Sand Castings ..... 134
Die-Castings ..... 135

Rapid Tooling & Metal Parts by Additive Fabrication Technology Comparison Tables ..... 136

Overview and a Bit of History ..... 143

RP Products and Services ..... 144

Rapid Prototyping Customers ..... 144
Rapid Prototyping Market Drivers ..... 145

Competition Overview ..... 145

Major US-Based Vendors ..... 146

3D Systems ..... 146
Stratasys ..... 148
Z Corporation ..... 150
Solidscape, Inc. ..... 151
Cubic Technologies Inc. ..... 151
Desktop Factory ..... 152

Europe ..... 152

EOS GmbH ..... 153
Arcam AB ..... 154
Envisiontec GmbH ..... 154
MTT Technologies Group ..... 155
CONCEPT Laser GmbH ..... 156
fcubic AB ..... 156
Sintermask GmbH ..... 156
Materialise NV ..... 157
Mcor Technologies ..... 157

Israel ..... 158

Objet Geometries Ltd. ..... 158
Solido Ltd. ..... 159

Asia ..... 159

Japan ..... 159
China ..... 160
Korea ..... 160
Singapore ..... 160

1. Personalized Hearing Aids; a Perfect Fit for the Patient and the Technology ..... 161

2. Manufacturing Complex, High-value Parts ..... 162

3. Light fabricates Little Lady Liberty ..... 163

4. Critical Technology to Separate Conjoined Twins ..... 165

5. RP Makes This Lady Smile ..... 166

6. Picturing Heart Disorders ..... 167

7. Replacing Severely Injured Bones ..... 168

8. Modeling Anthrax Proteins in Color ..... 170

9. Reconstructing the Face of a Murder Victim ..... 171

10. The Face of a Time Traveler ..... 172

11. Rapid Prototyping Fabricates Up a Storm ..... 174

12. Building a Small World ..... 175

13. House Beautiful - Martian Style! ..... 177

14. Fabricating Furniture and Fashion ..... 179

15. Reproducing Large and Historic Art Works ..... 180

References and Contact Information for Chapter 8. ..... 181

Where Do We Stand at Present? ..... 183

Impediments to Wider Adoption ..... 183

Education and Unmet Expectations ..... 183
Software ..... 184
Technology ..... 184

How Will This Industry Develop? ..... 185

Comparison to the Personal Computer Industry ..... 185
A Closer Industry Analogy ..... 185

Divisions Grow Deeper ..... 187

Industrial Systems ..... 187
Rapid Tooling Fades as a Distinct Entity ..... 187
3D Printing ..... 188

The Vector of Technology Development ..... 190

Judging Technologies ..... 190
The Perpetual Wild Cards ..... 191
Solving the Technology Riddle ..... 192
Open Source Systems ..... 193

Prospects for the Major Technologies ..... 194

What opportunities will the industry foster? ..... 197

Future Shape of the Industry ..... 199

What's all this name stuff anyway? ..... 207

How Photopolymers Work .... 207

Glossary ..... 209

Rapid Prototyping Acronyms ..... 215

Directory of Selected Industry Resources ..... 217

Additive Fabrication Systems & Technology Providers ..... 217
Material Manufacturers & Material Finishing Technology Providers ..... 220
Do-it-yourself & Open Source Additive Fabrication Hardware & Information ..... 221
Rapid Injection Molding Vendors ..... 221
RP Software Vendors ..... 222
Industry Organizations and Additional Information Sources ..... 224