Rapid prototyping metal formed parts

Manufacturers nowadays often believe that it is too expensive and time consuming to produce punched and formed prototype and preproduction parts using conventional metalworking methods. Small-quantity production of precision stamped and formed parts has long been a problem for the metalworking industry. As a result, stamping suppliers are expected to deliver a product more quickly than ever. This applies particularly to the production of prototypes and preproduction parts. Successful production of these stampings demands creative thinking in relation to tool costs, tool design and production cost. Today's technology is moving at a fast pace in regard to manufacturing techniques and practice. Only several years ago, did we begin to investigate an application that has long been a problem to our manufacturing society. With the help of powerful new generation of computers and innovative software designs, rapid prototyping was established. This technology can be defined as manufacturing small quantities of parts to be used in the development of a new product. Methods of prototyping Numerous production methods of prototyping includes stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), fused deposition modelling (FDM), front end module (FEM), common ground station (CGS) or computer generated simulation, where a part can be produced as a 3D model and tested for such things as stress and design integration. Now we have at our disposal numerous production methods of prototyping, which are well known by their acronyms. The more common are SLA, SLS, LOM, FDM, FEM and CGS or computer generated simulation, where a part can be produced as a 3D model and tested for such things as stress and design integration. The latest in rapid prototyping, called virtual reality (VR) is where the customer can actually interact with computergenerated parts in a cyber world. Producing prototype metal formed parts The most conventional method to produce prototype metal formed parts in today's job shop and R&D facilities is to use standard machine shop equipment to complete these tasks. With this method, toolmakers will layout a flat blank and scribe the outline of the part on the material, then remove material by using one or more progressive operations on manual machines. Forming often will be performed in a similarly crude fashion in a vise or arbor press. This method will produce a prototype part, but is very time consuming and offers little chance for repeatability in subsequent parts. Some job shops may produce small inexpensive soft tooling. Usually each small tool will produce an individual feature of the part. Then the tools are set up in a small punch press, one at a time, and the stock is "stepped" through each tool until the finished part is produced. These small tool sets usually are designed and built by experienced toolmakers, who will produce the finished prototype parts. Although much more accurate than the machine shop method, this approach requires a very experienced toolmaker and is overly time consuming. Subsequent part changes also require extensive tool modification. Most modern tool and die shops today have additional capacity for producing prototype representatives of a stamped and formed part. Many of these shops will use equipment normally used for the production of permanent tooling. Often, a wire EDM machine will be used to cut a stack of sheet metal blanks very accurately for the prototype part. These blanks are formed using either a standard press brake or inexpensive modular tooling. With the exception of the part forming, this method is very flexible in that the flat blanks can be altered with a simple program change on the wire EDM machine. Thickness of the material stack, and the number of individual openings or cut-outs on a part, each of which requires a start hole, affeAdidas