3 ways of Rapid Prototyping

What is prototype?

What are the?technical advantages of three?kinds?of prototype production?

After finishing the product graphic design?or a new product?drawing, before putting it?on the market,?the designer and engineer will do a market benefit analysis of the product, or confirm whether?there?is?a difference between the drawings and the real product, or whether the design is reasonable. Prototype model making is an inevitable process.

What is a prototype? In short. Prototype is to make one or more models based on product design or structural drawings,?to check the rationality of the appearance or structure without opening the mold. In fact, it is the prototype?model from design and printing.

At present, there are three common processes for making prototypes. As an?experienced expert?in the rapid prototyping?industry, Hensim offers rapid prototyping services for customers across many industries. We carry out CNC machining, vacuum casting, and a wide range of additional services. The prototype?model is the best way to reflect the customer's initial designs and our job is to turn customer ideas into reality as quickly as possible.?Today, we?summarized the common-sense comparison of three kinds of rapid prototyping for everyone. We?hope you can have more understanding of?rapid prototyping.

1.?CNC prototype production

CNC is a computer numerically controlled machine tool?which is working from a whole piece of the plate according to a numbered program. CNC uses the Mastercam system, which is mainly used to control the CNC toolpaths. CNC milling machine is?specially designed for processing some square and irregular objects, while the lathe?is?used for?processing?round objects. CNC can process some large workpieces. The maximum can reach 1800*900*600mm. It is cheaper than SLA, and can meet?many kinds?of prototypes.

CNC prototype model production process: accept drawings → program the?tool path → transmission?the?toolpath to CNC machining center → machine automatic processing → manual post-processing (grinding, painting, printing, etc.)!

Currently,?it is?most widely used in China. The main materials are ABS, PC, PMMA, and the metals are mainly aluminum and copper. CNC machining can process relatively high-precision product samples. The main application materials are ABS, PC, PMMA, PP, aluminum, copper, etc.?Bakelite and aluminum alloy is?commonly used in the production of jigs and fixtures; CNC prototype advantages include Good toughness, high tension, low cost, and a wide selection of materials.

Advantages:

(1). Be suitable for various types of raw material

(2). High precision

(3). High efficiency and short production cycle dropping to 2-3 days only

Our Machining?Tolerances:

Metal: ±0.01mm

Plastics: ±0.05mm

2. Vacuum casting

Vacuum casting refers to using the original model, in a vacuum state to produce a silicone mold, and use PU material for casting?in a vacuum state, so as to clone a copy the same as the original one, but?with higher temperature resistance, strength, and hardness than the original template.

If the customer requires several sets or dozens of sets, this method is suitable, which greatly reduces the cost. The product models?produced by vacuum casting have a certain percentage of shrinkage.?The cost of the vacuum casting?product model is generally lower than that of CNC. For most cases,?the price of CNC processing of multiple sets templates is higher than the price of CNC processing 1 set and then performing vacuum replication (Except for the special?materials ).

Normal casting?materials are:

Ordinary PU: more brittle and tough

Transparent PU: the raw materials are better, but the price is the most expensive

Rubber-like PU: 8400 soft rubber

There are two purposes through the technology of vacuum casting:

a. Produce?small batches of product samples;

b. Change the material: you can change the template carved by?gypsum sludge through a silicone?mold,?to?PU or POLY material that is easy for follow-up processing?or change the ABS material to?special requirement?material. Such as transparent, high temperature resistant, High strength, or rubber characteristics, etc.

Advantages:

(1). High-level reproduction of products duplicated from mold, with even elaborate details on the surface and minimal manual labor.

(2). Short production period. The production can be fulfilled in a few days after the fabrication of the prototypes.

(3). Low cost. The initial cost of making molds is also very low.

(4). Suitable for various molded polymer materials and can create products of various colors.

(5). Capable of completing duplication easily and quickly even facing machine parts with complex structure or shape.

Precision and size range

Maximum volume of workpieces 2000mm*1200mm*1000mm

Thickness of workpieces

Minimum 0.5mm Optimum 1.5 mm-5 mm

3.3D printing prototype

3D printing is a kind of additive manufacturing technology. It is a technology that uses powder, linear plastic, or liquid resin materials to construct objects based on digital model files, by printing layer by layer.

SLA process printing photosensitive resin material

The main process of 3D printing prototype is:

Prototype drawings -- 3d Prototype model -- Model slicing -- 3D printing -- Post-processing -- Finished products.

Advantages:?

(1). Fast production of prototype samples

Generally speaking, the speed of using SLA process to print prototypes is 3 times that of CNC production, so 3D printing is preferred for small parts and small batches.

(2). The whole process of 3D printer is automatically processed, the prototype production accuracy is high, the model tolerance is small, and the minimum tolerance can be controlled within ±0.05mm. The whole process of 3D printing prototype does not require human intervention, which avoids errors caused by human factors. CNC prototype production is prone to prototype deformation.

(3). More optional materials for 3D printing prototypes

Welcome to share more ideas about rapid prototyping!

If you have any questions about prototyping or CNC machining, welcome to give your comment.