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3D rapid prototyping printer


What is Rapid Prototyping with 3D Printing?

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What is Rapid Prototyping?

Rapid prototyping with 3D printing is the quick, easy, cost effective way to turn great ideas into successful products. Do you need concept modeling to put your newest ideas to the test? What about functional prototyping to gauge performance before committing to costly production tooling? Rapid prototyping solutions from Stratasys will give you the flexibility to create, test and refine in ways you never thought possible so you can go to market faster than ever before.

See how 3D printed rapid prototypes are changing the way the world does business

"Every time we avoid cutting a tool, we save 8 to 12 weeks."

Randy Larson, Polaris Industries

Here is Everything you Need to Know

Jul 24, 2020

Fast 3D Prototyping: Rapid prototyping and 3D printing are truly a match made in design heaven!

Rapid prototyping is a common prototyping process used across many industries. Using a 3D printer for prototyping is a smart way to save time and money while also expanding design possibilities. It allows companies to physically conceptualize designs and ideas quickly and at a low cost.

In this article, we’ll dive into how 3D fast prototyping, the rapid prototyping process, and everything else you need to know.

Rapid Prototyping Process

Rapid prototyping is the general term used for the process of quickly creating prototypes and models. This type of prototyping can be done in many different ways and involve several techniques. 

As its name implies, this style of prototyping allows designers to:

  • Quickly see the functionality
  • Test the effectiveness of a design
  • Compare variations

Traditional prototyping may take a lot of time and materials. On the contrary, the rapid prototyping process typically involves much quicker and more cost-effective methods.

One of the most popular forms of rapid prototyping is through 3D printing. Many industries, including engineering, architecture, and manufacturing, utilize 3D printing in their rapid prototyping processes to speed up their workflows and save money.  

Sometimes the terms rapid prototyping and 3D printing are used interchangeably, which is incorrect. Rapid prototyping is a technique, while 3D printing is one of the technologies that can be used for this technique. While prototyping is a very common use of 3D printers, this technology is also suitable for many other uses and applications. 

The Role of 3D Printing

Using CAD software and a 3D printer, rapid prototyping can be taken to new heights. 3D printing is one of the most common prototyping methods today, simply due to its major benefits. 

On the one hand, one of the largest benefits of using 3D printing for prototyping is its ability to save time and money. It does so, avoiding paying an external manufacturer for every iteration and design. Moreover, 3D printing allows designers to save the waiting time until they see a functional prototype. As a result, they can quickly make changes on the spot.

Depending on the print job, a design can be printed in a matter of minutes or hours. For particularly large models,  leaving the 3D printer on overnight is the best option. It allows you to come back to the office to a fully printed prototype, freeing up space for the next one.

Furthermore, rapid prototyping allows designers to keep their concepts in-house. Therefore, not only speeds up the workflow, but it keeps ideas confidential and secure. 

On the other hand, the most valuable role of 3D rapid prototyping is the ability to test and compare different models or design ideas. This applies when testing both functionality and aesthetics.

We recommend using a more durable filament like PA and TPU or a similar filament to your end-use material. This way, you can test if your design will stand up to important elements or factors, such as certain chemicals or the weather. Similarly, 3D prototyping allows you to physically compare different visual concepts and iterations. 

Applications of 3D Rapid Prototyping

Many industries currently incorporate 3D printing into their rapid prototyping process.  

Architects and product designers can utilize this technology for building models as well as showcasing difficult designs that may not be accurately represented on a screen alone. Engineers and manufacturers can utilize additive manufacturing for functional prototyping. Consequently, this fact will allow them to test different technical aspects of a tool or part.

Students and researchers also benefit from the speed and versatility of 3D prototyping, as demonstrated by Instituto Europeo di Design Barcelona. 

For instance, using 3D printers in class IED Barcelona students can quickly compare different ideas and concepts before settling on a final design. In their very classrooms, they are recreating the real-world effects of using 3D printing for prototyping. 

Final Thoughts

Using 3D printing to speed up your rapid prototyping process will revolutionize your prototyping workflow. The saved costs and time, combined with an easier design testing process, makes additive manufacturing one of the best technologies for prototyping.

3D Printing Applications: Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping enables companies to turn ideas into working proofs of concept, transform concepts into high-quality prototypes that look and work like finished products, and test products for mass production.

No more waiting weeks for prototypes to arrive. With your own 3D printing, you can create rapid prototypes in one day, test, redesign, and print again.

STEP 1

Design

Design the object in CAD during business hours.

STEP 2

3D Print

Create 3D prototypes overnight.

STEP 3

Test

Clean, measure, test, build and collect feedback on your design in the morning.

STEP 4

Repeat

Adjust design and repeat process.

Although the cost of setting up a printer may seem high, it pays for itself in just a couple of weeks or months. Believe me, you will spend much more on outsourcing or an alternative production method.

Calculate time and cost

Prototyping speaker cabinet

16.5 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm

6.5 x 5.3 x 5.3 inches

Ecosystem of affordable 3D printers and Formlabs high-performance materials can be used to create highly detailed prototypes. With Draft Resin you can print models up to four times faster than standard Formlabs resins, making Draft Resin ideal for initial prototyping and print iterations to bring products to market faster.

The

Form 3 High Performance Stereolithographic 3D Printer creates molds with very high surface quality and detail, allowing you to meet all design requirements in manufacturing, and virtually eliminating the need for post-processing. Build industrial-quality prototypes at an affordable price so your team can print new models in just a few hours.

Use the Form 3 at various stages of production for faster return on investment. The Formlabs ecosystem seamlessly integrates into any product development process, from 3D printing prototype models to manufacturing molds for small-scale production.

Buy Form 3Request a Sample

Find additional resources to help you get started with Formlabs 3D printers and experience rapid prototyping.

Use the tools of the master - give the idea volume, or 3D prototyping today

Evgeny Savelyev

What is conceivable is feasible.
Mao Zedong

More recently, the process of creating a product prototype was incredibly long - up to several weeks, or even months, but no one canceled the progress, and today the technology of rapid prototyping, or 3D printing, allows you to quickly create samples of almost any objects. Such a concept as a digital prototype obtained by designing a 3D model in various CAD systems is no longer surprising to anyone.

The first RP systems ( from English . Rapid Prototyping) appeared in the USA in the early 90s of the last century. These were bulky, complex and very expensive machines, requiring special working conditions and very inconvenient to operate. Technology has evolved, and around 2000 so-called 3D printers began to appear. These RP systems take up less space, can work in a typical office environment, and are much easier to operate.

The general principle of operation of such devices is to build a model by layers. The digital model obtained from 3D-CAD is divided by software into thin flat layers and sent to the printer. The printer builds, or, as they say, grows the model layer by layer until it is completely finished. Thus, from a technological point of view, various RP systems differ mainly in the method of constructing a flat layer, the material used and, of course, the thickness of an individual layer.

It is believed that all RP systems to some extent use additive synthesis technology - the model is obtained by adding individual layers together. From this point of view, machining technology is subtractive, since it removes excess material from the workpiece in order to obtain the final product. This implies one of the main advantages of rapid prototyping systems - the ability to build models with completely arbitrary geometry. We can layer a model of absolutely any shape, and, unlike machining, the time and cost of manufacturing will be determined only by the size of the model, and not by its geometry (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Objet printers are ideal for checking product design and construction. Thanks to the 16-micron layer thickness, the prototypes are as close as possible to the computer model, which allows you to really evaluate the designed product. Smooth surfaces, high accuracy (up to several microns), the smallest possible thicknesses of the elements make it possible to quickly and easily obtain ideal prototypes of the future product.

Objet Geometries (Israel) was founded in 1998 and, despite its relatively young age, very quickly occupied its niche in the global 3D printer market. The company specializes in the development of 3D printing technologies, the production of printers and consumables for them. The head office of the company is located in Israel - production and research divisions are located there. The company's branches in the USA, Europe and China are engaged in sales and service of equipment, in other industrialized countries the company relies on local partners. Objet has more than 50 patents and patent applications in the field of 3D printing, a quarter of the employees in the company work in R&D, improving technology and developing new printers and materials based on it.

3D printing technology

Imagine that you have developed a 3D model of a new product, such as a television remote control. To reproduce it, previously you would need to transfer drawings from the CAD system to technologists, then prepare a mold or other equipment for this product - only after that you could create the first prototype of your console. Thanks to modern 3D prototyping technologies, today it is enough to translate the created model into the desired format, and then send it to print, and in a few hours you will receive a finished prototype (Fig. 2). Objet printers use two core technologies developed by the company - PolyJet and PolyJet Matrix. Let's take a closer look at each of these technologies.

Fig. 2

Objet's patented PolyJet technology is laser-free model growth over layers of UV cured acrylic photopolymers (Figure 3). This technology is built on the basis of the latest world achievements in the field of precision mechanics, electronics, photopolymer chemistry and 3D software. A distinctive feature of the technology is the construction of a model from ultra-thin layers with a thickness of only 16 microns. During the construction process, each layer of liquid photopolymer is applied by an array of printheads and instantly cured with UV lamp light. After that, the tray with the model is lowered down by 16 µm and the next layer is applied. To fill the voids, the printer uses an auxiliary support material, which can be easily removed with water after printing.

Fig. 3

Print media comes in sealed cartridges that are as easy to replace as a conventional printer. The printer itself is connected to a conventional computer network, and Objet Studio software with an intuitive user interface is used to prepare the tray for printing and send it to print.

Fig. 4

PolyJet Matrix technology is an evolution of the core PolyJet technology. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it allows the printer to use two base materials when growing models (Fig. 4). Using this technology, the latest Connex 500 printer (Fig. 5) can not only simultaneously print a model from different materials in different parts of it, but also receive new materials on the fly right during the printing process. The Digital Material system allows the designer to specify materials with different mechanical properties, such as hardness and strength, for various model nodes. These materials are obtained by combining two base materials that are found in the printer cartridges. In the process of printing, the printer builds a spatial lattice of two basic materials in the volume of the model, which makes it possible to obtain composites with desired properties. The Connex 500 is currently the only 3D printing solution in the world that allows multiple materials to be used in the same model at the same time. Objet has deservedly received several prestigious awards for technical excellence for this printer.

Fig. 5

If we move from the technology of the device to the issues of its daily operation, then the question arises - what is the scale of the equipment itself, does it require a separate room and maintenance personnel? In this regard, the Objet line of 3D printers is very pleased with the features it offers. Firstly, the devices themselves are comparable in size to an ordinary desk, the 3D model building chamber is isolated, which means that no harmful radiation is emitted from the device, sealed cartridges with material are also located inside the device itself - all this allows you to use this 3D printer in an ordinary office, without allocation of additional premises. The operator sends the model for printing, if necessary, changes the cartridges with material, removes the finished model. During the printing process, operator intervention is not required, the printer can work at night, on weekends and holidays. The process of sending it to print is so simple that any employee can handle it, for example, a designer who created a model in 3D-CAD. The printer software is compatible with any 3D-CAD system in mechanical engineering.

Fig. 6

The range of applications of Objet 3D printers is quite wide, starting with medicine (transplantology and prosthetics, dentistry, maxillofacial surgery (Fig. 6)), design, packaging development, architecture, mechanical engineering and ending with jewelry production (Fig. 7). If we talk about mechanical engineering, we can distinguish the following areas.

Fig. 7

Visualization or conceptual modeling

This is one of the most common uses for any 3D printer. The ability to quickly and easily move from a 3D CAD model to a prototype that you can hold in your hands is hard to overestimate. Thanks to PolyJet technology, you get models with excellent surface quality and fine detail reproduction (Fig. 8). Objet printers can use a variety of materials, ranging from translucent polymer and polypropylene, including matte hard materials in various colors, to elastic materials with a high strain to break ratio. Ready-made prototypes can be easily glued, painted in any color, they can be coated with a thin layer of nickel or chromium by electroplating or vacuum deposition. Transparent material can be dyed in volume. All this allows you to quickly get a prototype that will not differ from the final product not only in appearance, but also to the touch. These capabilities of a 3D printer are widely used for preparing demo samples for customers and exhibiting at exhibitions.

Fig. 8

Assembly test

Due to its excellent model building quality and high accuracy, prototypes grown on Objet 3D printers are very useful for testing the assembly of new products (Fig. 9). The digital model from the computer is sent directly to the printer, the influence of the human factor in the manufacture of the prototype is reduced to zero. Having received a finished model in a few hours, the designer can be sure that if errors are found in it, then these are errors that crept in during development, and not during the manufacture of the prototype.

Fig. 9

Functional testing

This is the testing of prototypes under the same conditions as the final product will operate. Each enterprise sets different testing tasks, so it is very difficult to highlight any common points. In our experience, prototypes grown on Objet printers are successfully tested with various fluids to study hydrodynamic characteristics, blown in a wind tunnel, and in addition, complex antenna prototypes are grown, which are covered with metal, and then their characteristics are measured, etc. This is a very important area for the use of prototypes, which is becoming more and more popular.

Of course, the scope of Objet 3D printers is not limited to the above areas. What if we need a prototype or even a small series of test prototypes made of metal or durable thermoplastic? In this case, we will be helped by related technologies that expand the scope of Objet 3D printers.

Silicone molding

This technology has become increasingly popular in recent years. When it is necessary to obtain a small series of castings from plastics, it is often unprofitable to make a metal mold, not to mention the fact that this usually takes a lot of time. In this case, a prototype is made on a 3D printer. According to this prototype, the silicone mold is removed using non-shrinking transparent two-component silicones. After receiving the mold, polyurethane resins are poured into it under vacuum to obtain castings. At present, a very wide range of two-component polyurethane resins is presented on the market, the mechanical and physical-temperature properties of which make it possible to obtain castings that are not inferior in properties to thermoplastics. The high quality of castings is ensured by vacuum degassing of both the mold itself during its manufacture and the castings. The advantage of this technology is the speed and moderate cost of obtaining tooling and the castings themselves. The limiting factor here is the strength of the silicone mold, which is usually enough for 10-20 castings. The high quality of the surface of the master model is very important for this technology, so Objet 3D printers with their prototype quality fit perfectly here (Fig. 10).

Fig. 10

Low Pressure Injection Molding (RIM)

Relatively new technology that is also used for plastic injection molding. In this case, not a master model is made on a 3D printer, but the mold itself, into which two-component polyurethane resins are then poured, which have a curing time of one to two minutes. Due to the short setting time, degassing is not used. The big advantage of this technology is the possibility of using one mold for an almost unlimited number of castings. This makes it possible to use this technology in the interval that occurs between casting into silicone and the use of injection molding machines, that is, in a situation where it is necessary to obtain tens or even hundreds of castings.

Lost Wax Casting

Classic technology for high quality metal castings. In the 3D-CAD program, the designer develops a mold for casting the product. Then it is grown on a 3D printer. This form is used to obtain waxes - exact copies of the final product from foundry wax (Fig. 11). Such waxes are used to create a ceramic mold - usually they are assembled into a bush, which is dipped several times in a liquid ceramic mixture and sprinkled with sand to build up the mold. The finished mold with wax inside is placed in an oven, where the mold is completely dry and the casting wax melts and flows out of the mold. Metal is poured into the finished ceramic mold, the casting cools down, then the mold is broken and the final product is removed. After that, the sprues are removed, and if necessary, the product is polished.

Fig. 11

Ground casting

Another classic technique for making metal castings. In comparison with investment casting, in this case, the accuracy is not so high, but it is possible to cast not only non-ferrous metals with a melting point of 600-800 ° C, but also steel with a melting point of more than 1000 ° C. When using the Objet 3D printer, a master model of the product and a set of inserts are grown on it, a sand mold is formed on them, into which the metal is then poured (Fig. 12). The master model, grown on the printer, is coated with paint to increase scratch resistance, which allows the model to be molded up to a hundred times.

Fig. 12

***

Of course, it is impossible to cover all aspects of using Objet 3D printers in one article. Therefore, I would like to answer some questions that may arise from readers.

Is it possible, for example, to make plastic windows on the Objet 3D printer?

The technologies used in RP systems in general and in Objet 3D printers in particular are not designed for mass production. Technically, the printer can really grow anything that fits in its working chamber, and what does not fit can be grown in parts and then assembled. But it is economically unprofitable, in the production of serial products, classical technologies are more justified. A 3D printer is beneficial for the production of prototypes or small series or one-of-a-kind items because it does not require pre-production.

It turns out that this is just a beautiful toy, which is absolutely unprofitable to use?

No! This is confirmed by the experience of leading Western companies that occupy leading positions in such industries as automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer goods, military-industrial complex. When developing new products, they widely use RP-technologies. During its existence, Objet has delivered more than 1,500 pieces of equipment to customers around the world.

Do you have any experience of operating this equipment in Russia?

Of course, but for objective reasons, 3D printers in Russia until recently were much less common than abroad. In recent years, the interest of Russian companies in such equipment has grown markedly. We will definitely devote a separate article to the stories of the successful use of 3D printers in Russia and abroad.

What is the economic sense of using such a technique?

There are four main groups of reasons why the use of Objet 3D printers is cost-effective:

  • reducing the development time for new products;
  • reduction in the number of errors that remained in the product after launching it into a series;
  • improving the quality of new product development;
  • maintaining complete confidentiality of new developments until the launch of the product in a series.

Why do we need to check the assembly on prototypes, because almost all modern 3D-CAD has the function of checking the assembly on a computer 3D model?

Ideally this is the case. But in real life, as a rule, everything is more complicated. Some components of a new product can be designed not just in different departments and in different 3D-CAD systems, but also at other enterprises. For some components, 3D models may simply not exist. Prototypes grown on Objet 3D printers assemble perfectly not only with each other, but also with parts made using traditional technologies.

We have very large items. Does this mean that Objet is useless for us?

Of course not! As a rule, large products consist of hundreds or thousands of smaller units. For example, no one makes an entire aircraft body on a 3D printer, but individual elements are very often made (Fig. 13).

Fig.

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