An investigation into how the advent of Rapid Manufacturing will influence an individual designer's approach to product design and materials selection is detailed. The assumption is made that Rapid Prototyping machines have evolved into viable manufacturing systems and all associated problems with accuracy, surface finish and repeatability have been resolved. Without the restriction of removing a product from a tool, designers will be free to design any complexity of geometry that they either desire or require. This tool-less approach to manufacturing will have profound implications on the way designers are accustomed to working and will eliminate most Design for Manufacture considerations. Design investigations are presented to highlight the potential importance and scope of Rapid Manufacturing. With advances in a new range of materials, some Rapid Manufacturing is happening today-albeit with existing Rapid Prototyping equipment. However, to enable designers to use existing Rapid Prototyping equipment for manufacturing purposes, there is a need for comprehensive information relating to the mechanical properties of the available materials. This is required to enable 'Design for Rapid Manufacture'. The most comprehensive analysis to date of three new materials aimed for end-use part manufacture at differing ages, humidities and temperatures is presented.
The use of Rapid Prototyping (RP) techniques for the production of end-use parts is increasing to a stage where Rapid Manufacturing is being undertaken. This paper documents significant initial investigations into the properties of Accura SI40 and SL7560 resins which represent two state of the art stereolithography resins that are aimed at end-use part manufacture. This information has previously been unavailable and is vital for their consideration in end-use part manufacture. The impact of various levels of post curing (ultraviolet and thermal) on the tensile, flexural and impact properties are investigated and correlated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. The isotropy/anisotropy nature of the two materials and also the effect of the notch creation method on the impact resistance were also studied.
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