Flexible Manufacturing, Rapid Manufacturing, Direct Manufacturing
Flexible Manufacturing, Rapid Manufacturing, and Direct
Manufacturing along with techniques for Rapid Manufacturing.
Rapid Manufacturing can be described as an ?Additive
Fabrication Technique’ to manufacture solid objects through the chronological
delivery of material and/or energy to precise points in the space for producing
that part. At present, the practice of controlling the process of manufacturing
with the help of computer by making use of mathematical model that has been
created through the computer’s aid is being followed. Rapid manufacturing, if
done with the help of Parallel Batch Production is capable of providing a huge
advantage in terms of cost and speed in comparison with alternative techniques
of manufacturing like die casting or Plastic Injection Molding.
Origin: Rapid Manufacturing process was first
demonstrated at The AUTO FACT show. The venue was Detroit, MI. The year was
1987. This creation is attributed to 3D Systems Company. The technologies
available now are inclusive of processes such as Laminated Object
Manufacturing, Shape Deposition Manufacturing, and Selective Laser
Sintering.
The present scenario: Rapid manufacturing
might involve replacement parts, custom parts, series production, or Short Run
Production. This process can be referred to as Rapid Prototyping only if the
use of the part is for development. Rapid Manufacturing carried out for big
products with Layer-based Manufacturing from composite materials, plastics, or
metals is widely used for numerous industrial applications pertaining to
aerospace (Boeing) and military (MPH-Optomec) sectors. Micro system
applications and small products are well known in medicines, sensor
technologies (micro TEC), and diagnostics. Batch production regarding tiny
parts by techniques of rapid manufacturing like RMPD give vent to advantages
related to time and cost.
Now days, collectibles, consumer products, orthodontics,
dentistry, jewelry, motor sports, and automotives are being experimented with
rapid manufacturing. Amazing results are expected in future. The world economy
is becoming competitive day by day. Manufacturers are facing the challenge to
deliver novel customized products faster than before for meeting customer
demands. A late delivery or development might could mean failure of business.
Rapid manufacturing has been devised with the objective of shortening the production
cycle and design, and promising to revolutionize the age-old manufacturing
procedures.
The initial process: Before starting with the
construction of product, a prototype or sample is required quite often as a
portion of design cycle, for allowing evaluation, testing, or demonstration of
proposed product. This process is iterative, as a chain of prototypes gets
built up. These prototypes can then be used for testing various options.
Rapid Manufacturing is also inclusive of rapid application
of tools needed for production on a large scale, like jigs, dies, and specially
shaped molds. Several Layer manufacturing Processes are being developed now, by
making use of a wide range of materials. Parts produced so far have proven to
be steadily durable. The size has also been increasing. Due to all these
successes, layer manufacturing is the most sought after technique for
fabricating the parts for functional prototypes as well as production tools.
The process of applying layer manufacturing for making components utilized in
production can be called Rapid Tooling. It is being applied to investment
casting, injection molding , and many processes related to mold casting.
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Tags: batch production, composite materials, die casting, fabrication technique, industrial applications, laminated object manufacturing, manufacturing process, mathematical model, micro system, motor sport, orthodontics, plastic injection molding, precise points, rapid manufacturing, rapid prototyping, replacement parts, selective laser, sensor technologies, shape deposition, system applications
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