| The protoyping methods evaluated in this study include vacuum cast molding and rapid prototyping. The properties of prototype parts were compared with injection molded thermoplastic parts. Fomulations of different polvurethane resins were vacuum cast into silicone rubber molds.;This study shows that several grades of polyurethanes exhibited mechanical behavior similar to the thermoplastic resins. A few grades could not match mechanical properties of any thermoplastic resins. Most of the grades, except one, match all the mechanical properties of polyolefins. Other thermoplastics like polycarbonate, ABS, nylon and Noryl;The summaries presented are intended to provide engineers with a tool for accelerating the product development process of molded parts by integrating CAE/CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, and vacuum cast molding with an improved level of confidence. |
