Plastic Prototyping–producing Smooth And High Resolution Moulds

By Author: David Dunn
Total Articles: 14
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The manufactures use the latest technology to generate trial products that are as much as close as one can get to the injection molded product. These are excellent quality prototypes and can survive all the tough product testing phases. It gives us assurance in the final design and only after that we invest in a mould tool. The produced items have a high resolution and smooth surfaces with great durability. During the production around hundreds of different grades of polymer are replicated. In some cases a trial product can be made up of solid substance which is a cheap process but for more accuracy and efficiency, there are many other methods also. We can use computer aided design to create the parts. This method does not need any extensive machine or assembled appliances. It is believed to be the best way to visualize the design of our idea and if our target is achieved, we start planning for the final product. It is very simple and low cost way to modify the computer designs rather than the molded tools.

Some of the other most common methods of Plastic Prototyping ...
... are:



SLA: The word SLA refers to Stereo lithography in which the parts are made a layer at the time when they use a laser beam on the containers surface. This container is filled with liquid photopolymer. It results in the rapid solidification of the material till the three dimensional object gets ready. Its main advantage is that it can make very big parts with great speed and accuracy.



FDM: Fused Deposition Modeling is a process in which a filament made of plastic is injected into a heated nozzle so that it can move in a parallel as well as the perpendicular planes. When the plastic melts, it gets deposited on a platen, in layers. To add more advance properties, the manufacturers use various other materials like Polycarbonate and Polyphenylsulphone.

Thermal Phase Change Inkjets: In this method, only one inkjet is used for a single material and this jet sprays very little droplets of the material so as to produce the particular part. As the droplets collectively form a layer, a milling head is passed over it to assure a regular thickness. The parts generated are of medium sizes and different colors.

3DP: when we use a three stage process to build the prototype, we call it a three dimensional printing. In this method, firstly a powdered layer is formed and compressed with the help of roller, after then the perfect part is generated perfectly. The end result is much cheaper and with fast colors.

The prototyping phase is a huge time to make use of our intact inventive capability and to survey all the potential in the market. One should not limit himself to any predetermined beliefs whether it is related to the use of material or the types of proficient people one can consult. He should try his level best to bringing the product proposal to life.