Sub Module -1: Introduction to industrial rapid prototyping techniques for the rapid and economical realization of prototypes
Duration: 3 Hrs
Recipients: users with the need to know and deepen the use of rapid prototyping, to apply it to the development and testing of new products.
Objectives: the module aims to introduce the user to the set of industrial techniques of RP aimed at the physical realization of a prototype, and on this to verify the functionalities, critical points and operational responses, with very reduced times and costs.
Contents:
- Introduction to the module
- Phases of the RP process, from design to finishing
- Processes and materials
- Advantages and disadvantages
- Final thoughts
- Key points of this module
Rapid prototype or rapid prototyping is a relatively new term and in its simplest form, the process of creating prototypes quickly to visually and functionally evaluate an engineering product design.
Careful consideration of the 5 key factors, viz. purpose, quality, quantity, complexity and cost would have a major impact on the prototyping success.
In an engineering product design context, a prototype is a preliminary version of the end-product and used to evaluate the design, test the technology or analyse the working principle which in turn provides product specification for a real working system.
Prototypes are an integral part of engineering product design and more importantly in an overall new product development process. RP can be used at any stage of the product development cycle or for any component or sub-component and can be repeated numerous times along the new product design process.
RP process involves layer-by-layer deposition of the material with fine detailing from a computer aided design file. By using this process, the architecture of the scaffolds can be controlled and optimized to obtain the desired mechanical performance, accelerated regeneration of bone tissues with monitoring bone formation with the anatomic cortical-trabecular structure. Various RP processes such as 3D printing, ink-jet printing fused deposition modeling, selective laser sintering, stereolithography, and robocasting have been used for the fabrication of scaffolds from predesigned architecture.