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Imagine
you work for an international company that is lighting up the world!
You design and build artful lighting systems that illuminate prestigious
interiors throughout the modern world. Things are going well. Your future
is bright with this company. You're a rising star and have been handed
a very important project. You are tasked to design and build a product
that will be featured at the world's largest tradeshow, Hannover Fair.
Featuring this product at this event is a winner-takes-all combination
against your competitors. No excuses. You need to meet this deadline.
You do. You forecasted selling 20,000 units. You sell 400,000. Management
is delighted. You get promoted. Your 3-D printing vendor is smiling -
3D Systems.
The subject of prototype tooling is of great interest to many design and manufacturing engineers for its promise to cut delivery time and costs from traditional toolmaking processes.
While by no means standard practice, prototype tooling, when used appropriately, can be used to produce parts in as little as a couple of days in unlimited end-use materials. Prototype tooling, also called bridge tooling, is ideal for those in need of a limited quantity of parts built in the end-use material. These small quantities are often used to satisfy testing requirements both internally and externally. With prototype tooling engineers are able to meet these demands at a fraction of the time and cost associated with production tooling.
3D Systems offers various prototype tooling opportunities, including RTV patterns, core and cavity, and tooling inserts. Using 3D Systems' stereolithography apparatus (SLA), engineers are able to build core and cavity inserts directly from CAD data. This process is called Direct AIM (ACES Injection Molding), which allows you to injection mold parts in end-use material. Prototype tooling allows you to verify and test your designs before committing to costly hard tooling.
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