USE OF RAPID PROTOTYPING IN RAPID TOOLING

INTRODUCTION A prototype is an important and vital part of the product development process. Before the start of full production a prototype is usually fabricated and tested. The phases of prototyping, making of prototype, are as follows 1st phase Manual prototyping by a skilled craftsman has been an age-old practice for many centuries. 2nd phase Second phase of prototyping started around mid-1970s, when a soft prototype modelled by 3D curves and surfaces could be stressed in virtual environment, simulated and tested with exact material and other properties. 3rd phase Third and the latest trend of prototyping, i.e., Rapid Prototyping (RP) which means layer-by-layer material deposition, started during early 1980s with the enormous growth in Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technologies when almost unambiguous solid models with knitted information of edges and surfaces could define a product and also manufacture it by CNC machining. RAPID PROTOTYPING The term Rapid Prototyping (RP) refers to a class of technologies that can automatically construct physical models from Computer-Aided Design (CAD) data. This technology, first developed in the mid 1980s, is based on the solid modelling portion of computer-aided design, or CAD. RP techniques are often referred to as solid free-form fabrication, computer automated manufacturing, or layered manufacturing. Rapid prototyping is an additive process, combining layers of paper, wax, or plastic to create a solid object. In contrast, most machining processes (milling, drilling, grinding, etc.) are subtractive processes that remove material from a solid block. RP has 4 principal areas. They are as follows 1st Area Input: It refers to the electronic information required to describe the physical object with 3D data. It can either be a physical model or a CAD model. 2nd Area Material: The initial state of material can either be solid like pallets, laminates, wire etc. or liquid or powder. 3rd Area Method: The method employed to develop prototype can be photo-curing (single laser beam, double laser beam, masked lamp), joining or gluing, melting, solidifying etc. 4th Area Application: Applications can be grouped into (1) Design (2) Engineering, Analysis, and Planning and (3) Tooling and Manufacturing.

Fig.1: RP Wheel showing principal areas in RP

For small production runs and complicated objects, rapid prototyping is often the best manufacturing process available. Of course, "rapid" is a relative term. Most prototypes require from three to seventy-two hours to build, depending on the size and complexity of the object. This may seem slow, but it is much faster than the weeks or months required to make a prototype by traditional means such as machining. RP PROCESS CHAIN RP has two fundamental process steps namely generation of mathematical layer information and generation of physical layer model. Typical process chain of various RP systems is shown in figure 2. 1st Process CAD model creation: First the object to be built is modelled by using any software package like ProE etc. 2nd Process Conversion to stl format: CAD file created in previous step is then converted in to stl format which has been adopted as a standard format to establish consistency. This format represents 3dimensional surface as an assembly of planar triangles. Increasing number of triangles improves approximation. As stl format uses planar triangles it cannot represent curved surfaces exactly.

Fig.2: RP process chain showing main process step

3rd Process Slicing stl file: stl model is then sliced in to layer having thickness ranging between 0.01 mm to 0.7 mm by using preprocessing software. While slicing some supports are generated by software which is useful for delicate features like overhang, internal cavities, and thin walled section. 4th Process Layer by layer construction: RP machines build one layer at a time by using paper, polymer, power etc. 5th Process Cleaning and finishing the prototype: Prototype is removed from machine and then supports are detached. Minor cleaning and surface treatment improves durability and appearance of prototype. After these processes, prototype is tested. If it is ok then prototype is accepted otherwise all processes are repeated. CLASSIFICATION OF RP PROCESSSES RP processes can be classified by many ways but one of the better ways is to classify RP processes based on starting material used to produce prototype as shown in following figure Solid Based RP Processes Except for powder, solid-based RP systems are meant to encompass all forms of material in the solid state. In this context, the solid form can include the shape in the form of a wire, a roll, laminates and pellets. The following RP systems fall into this definition:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Fused layer modelling, Ballistic part manufacturing, 3D printing, Selective laser sintering, Layer laminated manufacturing, Solid foil polymerization, etc.

Fig.3: Classification of RP processes Liquid Based RP Processes Liquid-based RP systems have the initial form of its material in liquid state. Through a process commonly known as curing, the liquid is converted into the solid state. The following RP systems fall into this category: 1) Thermal polymerisation, 2) Solid ground curing, 3) Stereolithography, 4) Holographic interface solidification, etc. Gas Based RP Processes Gas-based RP systems have the initial form of its material in gaseous state. The only process known today is Laser Chemical Vapour Deposition (LCVD). LCVD, used to fabricate complex net shaped metallic and ceramic structures, is based on the local pyrolytic (thermal) decomposition of precursor molecule by the laser light. In contrast with all metallic and ceramic RP systems, in LCVD bonding occurs at the atomic level, producing a material that is fully dense, ultra-pure, and mechanically sound.

USES OF RP TECHNIQUIE
Rapid prototype (RP) techniques have numerous uses as follows 1) RP technique is used to make prototypes which has following uses a) Prototypes make excellent visual aids for communicating ideas with co-workers or customers. b) In addition, prototypes can be used for design testing. For example, an aerospace engineer might mount a model airfoil in a wind tunnel to measure lift and drag forces (with the help of dimensional analysis). c) Designers have always utilized prototypes; RP allows them to be made faster and less expensively. 2) In addition to prototypes, RP techniques can also be used to make tooling (referred to as rapid tooling) and even production-quality parts (rapid manufacturing). 3) RP technique saves time that allows manufacturers to bring products to market faster and more cheaply. For instance, in 1994, Pratt & Whitney achieved cost reduction and time savings of 70 to 90 percent by incorporating rapid prototyping into their investment casting process. 4) Because of, RPs additive nature allows it to create objects with complicated internal features that cannot be manufactured by other means. LIMITATIONS OF RP TECHNIQUE In all commercial RP processes, the part is fabricated by deposition of layers contoured in a (x-y) plane two dimensionally. The third dimension (z) results from single layers being stacked up on top of each other, but not as a continuous z coordinate. Therefore, the prototypes are very exact on the x-y plane but have stair-stepping effect in z-direction. If model is deposited with very fine layers, i.e., smaller z-stepping, model looks like original. 2) Rapid prototyping is not perfect. Part volume is generally limited to 0.125 cubic meters or less, depending on the RP machine. 3) Plastic prototypes work well for visualization and fit tests, but they are too weak for function testing. 4) Metal prototypes are difficult to make. For metal parts, large production runs, or simple objects, conventional manufacturing techniques are usually more economical.
1)

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN RP TECHNIQUE 1) By using faster computers, more complex control systems, and improved materials, it will be possible to reduce build up time. Continued reductions in build up time will make rapid manufacturing economical for a wider variety of products. 2) Improvements in laser optics and motor control will increase accuracy and surface finish. By developing new polymers that will be less prone to curing and temperatureinduced warpage. 3) By introducing non-polymeric materials, like metals, ceramics, and composites, it will be possible to develop functional parts that can be subjected to actual service conditions.

RAPID TOOLING (RT)

Only when the production quantity is massive that the expensive tooling cost can be justified. As a result, the way of how to produce tooling quicker and more economically especially for small batch manufacturing becomes a big concern. Furthermore, in the product design and development process, there is always in need of some intermediate tooling to produce samples for marketing, functional test, or production process planning and evaluation purposes. In this respect, RT is the ideal mean to fit the needs. Rapid Tooling (RT) is the result of combining Rapid Prototyping techniques with conventional tooling practices to produce small quantity of plastic or metal components from electronic CAD data directly or indirectly. Direct RT technology such as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) which fabricate production tooling from CAD data whereas Room Temperature Vulcanization (RTV) silicone rubber mould is the most commonly used indirect approach for plastic components duplication. TYPE OF RT PROCESSES Low volume (from 10 to 100 mm3 ) RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanisation) Soft Tooling Intermediate volume (from 100 to 1000 mm3 ) Metal filled Epoxy Tooling Direct Metal Laser Sintering

RTV SOFT TOOLING RTV silicone rubber mould is one of the important kinds of soft tooling which is an effective, high fidelity and inexpensive way to create multiple copies of a master prototype part. Indeed, this technology has been used by the industry for many years. The only thing new is that the master pattern is produced by the RP technology. The other common kind of soft tooling material is tooling grade Polyurethane. This technology is not specially designed for a particular RP process. In fact, master patterns produced from most RP processes are suitable to apply for this technology. RTV moulds can faithfully duplicate details and textures present on the master pattern. Apart from detail, geometry can also be fully duplicated from the master part when prototypes are removed from the mould. Great care should be taken to ensure that the pattern is in perfect condition. After RTV mould is completed, it can be used to further produce limited quantity of prototypes with a wide variety of material properties. Its application is mainly to produce plastics or metal prototypes in small batch by vacuum assisted casting or gravity casting method. The casting materials normally used are PU, polyester, epoxy, tin-lead alloy (200 C), pewter (230 C) and zinc alloy (400 C). The batch size is from several pieces to hundreds. Multiple moulds, sometimes, are required depend on the complexity of the parts. In fact, the ease of producing multiple moulds is one of the advantages of this technology. However, the process is tedious and required high skill workers attendance. Process Description a) One-piece mould approach This process begins with a master pattern which normally output from RP system directly. It requires to sand and polish the part surface well since the RTV mould will reproduce any and all surface defects on the master pattern, and in turn will transfer them onto the final model. Then, the pattern attached with gating system is mounted in a mould box. Silicone rubber is mixed with specific amount of hardener and poured into the mould box. Degassing in vacuum chamber is preferred to avoid trapped air caused by mixing and pouring. After solidification, the mould is then spitted into mould halves according to the predetermined parting lines. Figure 4 shows the RTV mould making process of one piece mould approach.

Fig. 4 Processes of making RTV mould (one-piece mould approach) b) Two-pieces mould approach Firstly, master pattern is prepared and laid horizontally inside a mould box with the parting line built up by hand with model clay. Prepared silicone rubber is poured inside the mould box to form one half of the mould. After solidification, clay is removed; the other half of the mould is produced by repeating the above steps with the master pattern turned upside down. Figure 5 shows the different parting line surface of one-piece mould and two-pieces mould.

Fig. 5 Left; one-piece mould Right; two-pieces mould Two-pieces mould is typically required when the parting line is difficult to be determined. Two-pieces mould approach requires less skill compared with one- piece mould. However, it requires double time to make the mould and the dimension accuracy of part is poor than one piece mould.

Fig. 6 Steps of PU casting PU Casting Even RTV mould can be used for different material, PU is the most popular material accompany with RTV mould for producing plastic components. There are two different approaches for PU casting, Top-down approach (direct gate) and Bottom-up approach (by gravity). For Top-down approach, PU is poured into the mould directly through a gate connected on top of the part. Firstly, weighted material and RTV mould are put into a vacuum chamber for degassing. PU resins are mixed together inside a vacuum chamber, it is then poured into the mould via a funnel and air is reintroduced simultaneously to force the PU material into the mould. This method is suitable for casting small components such as jewellery that has fine detail. Figure 6 shows the processes of PU casing by this top-down approach. For Bottom-up approach, PU material is poured into the RTV mould and filled into the moulding cavity by gravity. Vent channels are needed to be added at the top areas of part to allow air out. This method is most suitable for large casting part in which the mould is unable to put inside a vacuum chamber. METAL FILLED EPOXY TOOLING Epoxy tools are used to manufacture parts or limited runs of production parts. Epoxy tools are used for: Plastics injection prototype Mould

 Mould patterns for casting Vacuum forming moulds Sheet metal forming moulds Reaction injection moulds Mould that is made of plastics is built from casting some special grade epoxy resins directly onto the RP master model. This mould making method does not require high precision machine tools as with conventional metal mould production. This technology of direct transversal from the master model allows large reduction in mould production costs and time. In the past, plastics materials are not suitable for injection mould due to the lack of strength and the high shrinkage during curing. Many problems arise such as damage during mould making and moulding process. However, a special grade epoxy resin is developed for better strength and stiffness. Epoxy resin is a thermo set plastic reinforced with composite materials that can be cast to shape before cured. This special grade epoxy resin is aluminium powder filled for strength, stiffness and thermal conductivity improvement. The mould made by this process is only suitable for injection moulding of plastics parts. Common plastics materials like ABS, POM, etc. can be produced from this mould in small batch size up to 3,000 pieces. Process Description The process of producing epoxy tooling is somehow similar as making RTV two- piece mould but usually double duplication techniques is used. A RP master pattern is sanded and polished and the parting line is formulated by clay. A thin layer of mould release agent is applied on the surface of the master pattern; RTV is then poured into the mould box. The RTV is used as the negative mould master patterns for casting of metal epoxy in forming the mould cavity and mould core. As the density and viscosity of epoxy resin is relativity high, degassing is carried out by several times in order to extract out all of the trapped gases. After pre-curing, the master pattern is removed and the mould halves are put into oven step by step increasing the temperature to 280 for post thermal curing. The mould halves are then turned to CNC machine for producing the sprue, runner, gate and ejecting system. The mould is completed and ready for plastic injection. DIRECT METAL LASER SINTERING (DMLS) Direct Metal laser Sintering (DMLS) builds solid metal parts directly from powdered metals. It always used to build simple rapid tooling because of short lead times, eliminate the cavity machining required. For advanced, cooling channels and inserts can also be built in the rapid

tools. Rapid tools using harder, tougher materials can be used to inject hundreds to thousands of plastic parts.

Fig. 7 DMLS insert for mould injection

REFERENCES 1) Chua C.K.; Leong K.F.; Lim C.S.; Rapid Prototyping Principles and Applications; World Scientific Publications; Second Edition. 2) Pandey Pulak M.; Rapid Prototyping Technologies Applications and Part Deposition Planning; Technical Paper. 3) Rapid Prototyping Manufacturing and Technologies; IC Professional Training Series.