Material Forming Using Rapid Tooling

The objective of this research is to study applications of material forming using Rapid Prototyping. In the present study, the feasibility of material forming has been extended from 3D System’s Stereolithography process to include Stratasys’s FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) process using an ABS material, and Helisys’s LOM (Laminated Object Manufacturing) process using a new composite material, to form sheetmetal. The forming methods used are called Rubber Pad forming (Guerin process), as well as using a simple hydraulic press. The cost savings in labor hours using Stereolithography were 98Making Hydro Press Form Blocks and Dies Utilizing Stereolithography and Liquid Molding Compounds’ (Fritz, 1997). To explore whether such cost savings are possible using the other Rapid Prototyping Systems is therefore well worth investigating.