Scaled Rapid Prototyping by 3D printing and Similarity Method
Thursday, December 14th, 2017.
ProDe faces new challenges as it moves to create scaled prototypes of mechanical system. Seeking the solution in the Report funded by a Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation USA provides good insight.
"Rapid prototyping offers an approach to getting physical models much more quickly than through conventional means. However, it becomes more difficult to construct well-scaled systems when one utilizes rapid prototypes as scaled models, mainly due to material issues."
Commercial rapid prototyping systems can fabricate geometrically complex parts, but they impose restrictions on part size and material choices. As the similarity constraints are coupled functions of system parameters (related to part size, material, and loading conditions), construction of wellscaled rapid prototypes is not always possible. To understand these limitations, Tables 1 and 2 summarize part size and
available materials in current commercial rapid prototyping systems.
