Introduction to Rapid Prototyping

-A

S Rao

Mechanical Engineering Department VEERMATA JIJABAI TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE MUMBAI-400019

Outline
Principle Popular RP Processes Applications Important Issues in RP Conclusions

Ways to Speed up Physical Processes : Automation

Human being is the bottleneck to speed. 1. Automation of processes
Hard automation: automats, SPMs, Transfer lines Soft automation: CNC, Robotics, AGVs, FMSs,

2. Automation of Process Planning

CAPP RP
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Ways to Speed up Physical Processes : Automation

CNC machining has only process automation and its process planning is manual. Computer-Aided Process Planning or Part Programming (CAPP) for subtractive manufacture proved elusive except t for f very simple i l shapes; h so, RP adopted d t d additive dditi or generative manufacture. RP CNC + CAPP for f additive dditi mfg. f RP has total automation all steps from art to part are automated. t t d RP adopted a divide-and-conquer approach, viz., slicing. li i
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Rapid Prototyping - Definition

Rapid Prototyping (RP) is an automatic process of manufacturing objects j (parts, p (p prototypes, yp tools and even assemblies) ) directly y from their CAD models without any cutters, tools or fixtures specific to the object geometry. It is more appropriate to call it as Layered y Manufacturing or 3D Printing or 3D Faxing. Faxing RP uses a divideand conquer and-conquer manufacturing strategy, viz., slicing. 28-Sep-06

Principle Layered Manufacturing

RP is a Divide-and-Conquer based manufacturing strategy. Some examples of Divide and Conquer Technology : - FEM - VOXEL - CSG(Cylinder,Cone etc) Cutting the object into parallel slices and squaring the edges is the basis for RP RP. In RP, a complex 3D problem is broken down into several 2D problems. problems Just as squaring the edges is responsible for total automation it is also responsible for its poor accuracy and automation, strength.

Principle - Support
Layered Manufacture is not new; even buildings are constructed that way. However, it is labor-intensive and less automatic. This is because it does not employ any automatic method of support generation. Every RP process employs a support mechanism. It is required for Supporting overhanging features. Means for securing g isolated segments g or islands Holds the part in place like a fixture Help minimize distortion or curl. Some processes have an inherent support mechanism. In others, an explicit support mechanism is to be incorporated. In most cases of explicit support, supports are built from a sacrificial material that is removed later. Support is the place of poor finish.

Note: Identify the support mechanism used in various RP processes as we discuss them!

FEATURES REQUIRING SUPPORT

(issue5)

Definition
Rapid Prototyping (RP) is an automatic process for manufacturing parts, prototypes, tools and even assemblies directly from their CAD models without the use of any cutters cutters, tools or fixtures specific to the geometry of the object and without any human intervention anywhere in the process. It is a CNC machine with an embedded CAPP system for g additive manufacturing. As success in CAPP is evading subtractive manufacturing, all RP machines use additive manufacturing. manufacturing q manufacturing g strategy. gy It is a divide-and-conquer

Definition
Other names are: Layered Manufacturing (LM) 3D Printing (3DP) 3D Faxing S lid F Solid Freeform f F Fabrication b i ti (SFF) DeskTop p Manufacturing g( (DTM) )

Steps in CNC Machining

Designer

CAD SOFTWARE

NC Programmer

CAM SOFTWARE
Cutter path file

Not a tightly Integrated system

NC MACHINE

Part/ Tool

Steps in RP
Designer

CAD SOFTWARE
STL file

RP SOFTWARE
Sliced data Tightly Integrated system

RP MACHINE
Parts/ Tools/ Assemblies

Comparison of CNC and RP

RP is also a CNC Machine:
As far as its construction is concerned, it is also a CNC machine - a 2.5 y difference is that it is an additive process p axis machine. The only presently; this need not hold good in future since hybrid processes are emerging. To meet the requirements of advanced slicing strategies, 3-6 axis RP machines are under various stages of developments at various parts of the world. p

Total Automation:
The idle time of a CNC machine is mainly y due to the waiting g for the NC programs which are prepared by humans. The process of art-to-part is really not fully automatic in CNC. Therefore, RP is increasingly becoming an attractive alternative to CNC since it is more automatic , albeit poor p q quality. y than the CNC machines, Successful CAPP + CNC RP

Time Compression: p
It is one of the time compression technologies as it cuts down product development (more RP) and productionizing (more RT) cycle times. Therefore, it is an effective tool where time to market matters.

Geometric Input
It is possible to use any solid model or water-tight surface model model. Tessellated model is p preferred due to its simplicity. p y Note that tessellated model does not mean compromise on accuracy. This is because any manufacturing gp process has a limited accuracy. y Now-adays, even STL-based CAM packages are available. Tessellation is invariably adaptive adaptive. Triangular tessellation is preferred due to its robustness. b t

A Tessellated Object

Geometric Input
Most popular format is Stereo-lithography (STL) format. This was developed by 3D Systems. Systems Other solid formats like VRML also are used. Advantage of VRML over STL are (i) compact storage of geometry and topology and (ii) storing additional details such as color information. In spite of its limitations, STL file still is the most popular due to its down-to-the-earth simplicity. There are packages for browsing and repairing STL files (Magics, Deskartes, SolidView etc.). There are also unpopular attempts to use sliced contours in formats such as HPGL format. Even scanned data from CT etc. have also been used directly directly.

Geometric Input STL File of a Cube

solid AutoCAD facet normal 0.0000000e+000 outer loop vertex 1.0000000e+001 1 0000000 001 vertex 1.0000000e+001 vertex 0.0000000e+000 endloop p endfacet facet normal 1.0000000e+000 outer loop vertex 1.0000000e+001 vertex 1.0000000e+001 vertex 1.0000000e+001 endloop endfacet endsolid AutoCAD 0.0000000e+000 1.0000000e+000 0 0.0000000e+000 0000000 000 1 1.0000000e+001 0000000 001 1.0000000e+001 1.0000000e+001 1.0000000e+001 1.0000000e+001

0.0000000e+000 0.0000000e+000 0.0000000e+000 0.0000000e+000 1.0000000e+001 0.0000000e+000 1.0000000e+001 1.0000000e+001

Types of STL Files

1. ASCII format - Human readable - Large file size 2. Binary format - Only machine readable - Small file size. As small as a 5th in size.

POPULAR RP PROCESSES
RP PROCESS
LAMINATED OBJECT MANUFACTURING (LOM) FUSED DEPOSITION MODELING (FDM) STEREO LITHOGRAPHY APPARARUS (SLA) PHOTOMASKING OR SOLID GROUND CURING (SGC) SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING (SLS) 3D PRINTING Objet

DEVELOPED BY
HELISYS, USA TOYODA, JAPAN

USED IN INDIA BY
Intelmac (Pune), CMERI (Durgapur,West Bengal)

STRATASYS, USA IISc, IIT-B, IIT-K, Anna Univ., MNREC (Allahabad),VJTI 3D SYSTEMS, USA CUBITAL, ISRAEL DTM, USA EOS, GERMANY Z-CORP ? BARC, GTRE(DRDO) (Bangalore),Imaginarium M b i Mumbai Datar switchgears Ltd (Nasik), IIT-K CMTI (Bangalore), Imaginarium Mumbai ? ? Vectraform, Coimbatore