RP supersonic wind tunnel models.

From: Chris Sutcliffe (c.j.sutcliffe@liverpool.ac.uk)
Date: Fri Dec 11 1998 - 18:48:58 EET


Dear Bruce+List

There is another way of manufacturing supersonic wind tunnel models. You could high speed machine them from the correct grade of steel. At the Aerospace RP user group meeting at the University of Warwick UK a part of one of the presentations was on the use of HSM and SL/investment casting (apologies to the author as I can't remember his name). The component manufactured was an aircraft aerofoil section wind tunnel models for use at supersonic speeds.

The experimental results on both wings proved identical but the time taken to manufacture were massively different. Off the top of my head the RP route took 4 weeks and the HSM route 16 weeks!!!!!

I asked the author if he started both processes at the same time with the same amount of commitment and resource which process would prove the faster. Unfortunately he was not able to answer the question one way or the other.

Does any one on the list have any realistic comparisons/case studies making this type of comparison?

In my opinion if HSM is to compete with RP/Rapid tooling then there must be a sea change in the machining industry to take on some of the lessons learned from RP. There must also be an increase in the speed and ease of code generation. and Software must be designed to seamlessly integrate CAD and machining (i.e. to remove the CAM part). I realise that the software / hardware vendors have made huge strides recently and I think that this is some way due to the threat that RP and its associated technologies has produced (well done RP people). I would be very interested to hear opinion from others on this.

Dr. Chris. Sutcliffe
Product Innovation and Development Centre
Department of Engineering
3 Brownlow St.
Liverpool L69 3GL

(0151) 794 8022 Direct
(0151) 794 8021 Secretary
01893 209 556 Bleeper
EMail c.j.sutcliffe@liv.ac.uk

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