Brief Introduction of Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing

Rapid Prototyping and 3D printing

3D printing isn’t new technology by any means—it has been around for about 30 years. But, in recent years, it has become widely used and readily available. The technology affects almost every sector with new and innovative solutions to complex problems.

New vehicles can be built and tested quickly by means of rapid prototyping—a process where a computer aided design (CAD) file is used to 3D print the object—and can be ready to test on the road quickly, all completed at low cost to the company. This is great for the automotive industry, which is known for wasting a staggering amount of money on the design and manufacturing of cars. Rapid prototyping joined with low-volume manufacturing—ordering and building only what you need, as you need it—could save the auto industry insurmountable costs, removing the need for assembly lines and purchasing heaps of parts.

There are a magnitude of ways in which these manufacturing processes could help the automotive industry. For instance, when designing a new car, simply having one prototype printed would enable the company to physically see how it looks. They would easily be able to run tests on the aerodynamics of the body and it would be incredibly helpful in creating a car that not only looks good, but performs well, too.

Low-volume manufacturing provides customers with quality parts—usually 100,000 pieces or fewer—quickly, efficiently, and at low cost. It is an increasingly popular choice due to the fact that it allows for the company to have a limited investment in materials and yet still break into the market quickly. Low-volume manufacturing can also be used as a bridge between initial prototypes and high-volume production, paving a smooth path for companies to make their way into the market and build themselves as a serious competitor in the sector.

There are several other applications to this method as well. The medical sector is able to use this technology in different ways. Pre-surgical plan modelling is certainly an interesting way to use rapid prototyping. Computer tomography (CT) scans are used to create a 2D model of bones which allows the medical team to create fixation plates before the surgery starts. It also allows them to choose screws and other accessories to accomplish a successful surgery. With rapid prototyping, the team are able to have a 3D model of the affected area and easily customise the items needed before surgery even begins. They can also use the model to prepare for non-traditional surgical techniques.

Not only can rapid prototypes help with surgery, but it can also help with replicating parts of a patient’s body. Bone replication would allow technicians to test the patient’s bone strength and also to perform tests and take measurements on what would happen in the event of a facture or stressor. It can also be used as a teaching aid, quickly replicating a medical condition or part of the body for educational and display purposes.

Lastly, it can be used for prosthetics or custom surgical implants. 3D printed prosthetics have been covered in the news extensively over the last few years and has proven to be a cheap and efficient way to give people mobility and quality of life at low expense to the customer. The benefits of using 3D printing to create custom implants is obvious—instead of grinding an implant down to fit a patient during surgery, custom implants can be designed using CT scans or x-ray images prior to surgery. This also cuts down on time spent in the operating room, alleviating long procedure times and heavy costs.

Sectors are not yet using rapid prototyping to the fullest of its possibilities. That might be because we do not yet know the true possibilities of 3D printing—technology moves in leaps and bounds and 3D printing is still being explored fully—but it is also because of cost. Changing the way companies create and sell products is costly in itself. The upfront cost of a car manufacturer scrapping the assembly line and switching to rapid prototyping and low-volume manufacturing would be extreme. The whole company would have to shift and change for this to happen. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though.

As humans become more aware of their own individual carbon footprints they will be looking for alternatives to gasoline cars. Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers has recently attacked this with the aid of rapid prototyping and 3D printing. He noticed that car manufacturers create cars the same way as they did in 1915, on assembly lines with thousands of individual parts. Jay Rogers says it doesn’t have to be that way, and he has the proof for himself.

Strati—the first 3D printed electric car—may be crude in design but it is a sturdy vehicle that is paving the way to the future. It has been printed out of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic and, although it looks are lacking, it is a fantastic sign of things to come. As companies explore different ways to go green and be more mindful of the environment, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and low-volume manufacturing will certainly be ways for large companies to cut down on costs and damage to the environment. With factories scaled down from mammoth warehouses and assembly lines to small spaces with 100 employees, it is easy to see how money could be saved after the initial investment of change.

Rapid prototyping might not be industry standard just yet, but the technology is spreading out to all sectors as it advances. Companies can save a lot of money—and reduce waste and help the environment—with just a few small changes to the way they operate. Not only can it reduce costs across the board, but it can also help people’s lives by providing them with much needed medical implants or prosthetics. The invention of rapid prototyping and 3D printing has no doubt altered the course of several industries irrevocably. With a little time, it might just become the standard practice.