Rapid Prototyping Technology

In the paper, the current developments of rapid prototyping at home and abroad, the molding methods of rapid prototyping, their characteristics and the condition of applications were introduced, indicated that Sterolithography Apparatus (SLA) Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) were the several main prototyping methods of rapid prototyping at present, and their prototyping principle were briefly discussed. Some applications of rapid prototyping in new product design foundry technology and the field of mold were studied. Rapid prototyping technology changed the traditional pattern of product design, which could offer product sample for the designer, reduced design cycle and quicken the schedule of new product design, and it gave the decision-makers visual feeling.; RP technology provided kinds of molds including resin-boncled mold laminate mold, investment mold and lost foam casting mold and so on for sand casting investment casting and cavityless casting, it could also use direct shell production casting to make pattern dies metal dies die-casting dies injection dies directly, and it could even produce casting products in small scales. The applications of FDM technology in plaster precision casting and the rapid casting technology based on SLS technology were introduced, the organic combination between rapid prototyping tecnnology and foundry process, which initiated a new period of rapid manufacturing metal parts, by using advanced new technology alternated traditional foundry industry to make it looked brand-new, thus, the competition of foundry industry would be improved; rapid prototyping technology offered a rapid economical feasible technical method, common processes of using rapid prototyping technology to produce dies were discussed, in the paper it explored that .the problem of combining rapid prototyping technology with electric arc metal-spraying technology to make metal dies and technics in dies manufacturing of combining rapid prototyping technology with precision casting, rapid tooling based on rapid prototyping, integrated advanced new technology and tradition technology of rapid prototyping manufacture, each superiority were exerted, rapid prototyping technology had been an efficiency measure to rapid update products and develop new product , and to middle-. small scales manufacture. The development tendency of rapid prototyping technology were forecasted, it indicated that with the advancement of technique and the development of industry, rapid prototyping technology would play a more and more important role in the future.