In the tooling rapid tooling arena, productivity is achieved by guiding a product from concept to market quickly and inexpensively. Tooling rapid tooling services aid this process. They automate the fabrication of a prototype part from a three-dimensional (3-D) CAD drawing.

Tooling rapid tooling article

This physical model conveys more complete information about the product earlier in the development cycle. The turnaround time for a typical rapid prototype services part usually takes just a few days. Conventional prototyping may take weeks or even months, depending on the method used. Tooling rapid tooling services are generally a quicker, more cost-effective means of building prototypes as opposed to conventional methods.

Other terms applied to rapid prototyping technology include: desktop manufacturing, automated fabrication, tool-less manufacturing, and free-form fabrication. Rapid prototyping services providers use a number of technologies to fabricate the prototype. Some of the more common technologies include: stereolithography (SLA), rapid injection molding, selective laser sintering (SLS), RTV molding, and three-dimensional printing.

Stereolithography (SLA) rapid prototyping services are performed via a vat of photosensitive resin containing a platform that moves vertically. The part under construction is supported by the platform that moves downward by a layer thickness (typically about 0.1 mm / 0.004 inches) for each layer. A laser beam traces out the shape of each layer and hardens the photosensitive resin. Rapid injection molding starts with a solid model file (either scanned or designed). A CNC file is generated and the mold is cut from a soft material, such as aluminum.

This working mold is used to produce small quantities of the part. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a 3-dimensional printing process based on sintering, using a laser beam directed by a computer onto the surface of metallic or non-metallic powders selectively to produce copies of solid or surface tooling rapid tooling models.