ABSTRACT

B. Conversion Technologies Ult imate ly , i t is the product that needs to be tested pr io r to being released to the market . I t is best to carry out tests on a prototype that was manufactured i n the same way as the product . SLS and 3DP have the potent ia l to make functional parts i n the material o f choice. Even then the prototype w i l l not exhibit the same properties as the future product ion part due to differences i n manufacturing. Al so due to manufacturing cost, RP techniques may be used to make a l imi t ed number o f parts, up to 5 generally. This leads to the need to manufacture prototype tools rather than prototype parts i n order to address b o t h cost and proper t ies o f the p ro to type parts. F igure 9 shows schemati­ cally the connections between RP techniques, conversion technologies and tool ing for prototype product ion purposes.