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Rapid prototyping (RP) is a technology that enables the building of physical models and prototype parts from three-dimensional CAD data. RP builds the physical models and prototype parts from plastic, liquid, powdered, and sheet materials in thin cross-sections based on a computer model. The rapid systems covered in this chapter are: stereolithography (SLA), solid ground curing (SGC), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), selective laser sintering (SLS), direct shell production casting (DSPC), and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Each one of these systems had some advantages and some limitations.

Today’s manufacturers encounter various difficulties involved in the product development process and that must be overcome for international competitiveness. The obstacle includes shortened product life cycle, highquality product, highly diversified and global markets, and unexpected changes of technologies and customer needs. If there are delays in the development, you run the risk of losing revenue to your competition. Also the companies are heading toward vendor based-manufacturing, i.e., manufacturers are trying to get most of the work done by the vendors so as to minimize the time-to-market. Hence it is essential to utilize a computeraided system in designing, manufacturing, testing, and distributing the products to minimize time-to-market. For the integration of information at every stage of product development, collaboration technology is needed for cooperative work. As the assistant of the design and development of new products, integrated design technology plays a very important role. The framework described in Section 6 confirms design assumptions and predicts product performance in the early stages of the design process. This results in a faster product development cyclewith lower associated costs-achieved by eliminating the need to constantly build, test, and redesign.