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Transforming plastic part designs into rapid prototypes with full geometry has become an essential part of the moldmaking process for today’s mold builders. Nobody can afford to make mistakes up front, which will take big dollars to fix later. The majority of rapid prototyping involves the use of two common rapid prototyping processes: stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS).
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Both processes produce a solid, three-dimensional part replica that is typically produced from CAD data. The equipment to provide these different processes can be between $300, 000 and $500,000 each, so when moldmakers are searching for a service provider they should seek out companies that have this level of investment and capability.
RP Technologies
Stereolithography is a 3-D layering manufacturing process that applies ultraviolet lasers to cure liquid photopolymer resins to produce solid, plastic, 3-D objects that simulate properties of polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate materials. The SLA machine’s software sections the 3-D CAD model into multiple thin layers (typically five to 10 layers per millimeter). In the SLA machine, the ultraviolet lasers basically paint one of the model layers on the liquid plastic, curing it. The machine drops down a minuscule amount in the liquid, and the laser then paints another layer again. This process is repeated until the model (or stack up of layers) is complete. |
