Current Status Of Other Rapid Prototyping Technologies
Precision Optical Manufacturing (POM) of Michigan, USA, is developing Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) technology, which can produce metal parts with uniform texture and high strength by laser melting metal powder.
The precision RP equipment developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) can be used to process precision parts for aerospace, medical and other fields. The manufacturing range is 450mm×300mm×300mm. The fine features of the parts can be less than 12μm and the surface precision is less than 1μm, priced at about 150,000 US dollars.
German research institutes use SL to combine vacuum injection molding to produce microceramic parts with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. Oxford University and Ford Motor are developing RP equipment for large parts by spraying molten alloy steel on low-cost ceramic molds. Ford claims that the new injection molding process will shorten the product development process (from 12 to 5) Process) and time (from 15 to 25 weeks to 3 to 5 weeks).