Rapid prototyping technology has been widely applied in the automotive industry to reduce both time consumption and new product development cost.
Applications of this new technology are popular in both large and small firms. Time savings on prototyping parts vary, ranging from 60 to 80 percent reductions when compared to traditional ways for manufacturing prototype components. Cost savings are less clear cut, owing to the problems of establishing meaningful data for comparison purposes. However, the potential for cost savings lies in several areas, including early identification and elimination of costly design mistakes. Another significant area where costs can be reduced is in the amount of labor involved when producing models, tooling and prototype parts - typically very labor intensive and time consuming activities.
The technology is able to quickly transform three dimensional computer-aided design models into physical models made of different materials. And these models can be used to produce tooling using secondary what functional prototypes can be manufactured. The pace of technological development in this field has been quite rapid. Back in 1988 there was only one process - stereolithography - but now several various processes are available. In the near future, it will be possible to directly manufacture metal components which will eliminate the need for tooling.
Several business objectives can be greatly improved by using rapid prototyping technologies, such as new products marketing, manufacturing flexibility and new product development. The key to apply these technologies to have a competitive advantage lies in the innovative use. That is to use the technology not only to deliver time and cost saving improvements, but also to explore new fields which previously might have been impossible or uneconomic. While the pursuit of time and cost reductions is clear business objective, it is evident that by using rapid prototyping in more innovative ways, firms can gain more significant benefits.
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