Rapid prototyping processes of physical parts

Abstract

Many companies are now under intense pressure to reduce the lead time for new product introductions. This is especially so in a market where the lifetime of a product is very short, such as in the computer and electronics sector. DEC claim that they now have a window of opportunity of less than eight months to go from a product concept to launching the product [1]. It is also said that manufacturers of mobile telephone handsets make the vast majority, if not all, their profit in the first six months of sales. With examples like these it is easy to see why companies are introducing concurrent engineering into their management practices to reduce lead times. The most important technological tools to help concurrent engineering are the use of three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) and the various rapid prototyping techniques.