RE: Re[2]: Future of RP Re:Further Comments

From: Tom Richards (thoms@ici.net)
Date: Thu Dec 17 1998 - 03:56:26 EET


Greetings Dr. Phil Dickens, Larry Blasch, Michel Gilio and others interested
in applying RP to manufacturing:

I see it differently. Additive processes are more economically utilized to
produce metal alloy or composite molds for the conventional manufacture of
intermediate quantities of metal and plastic parts for new products, than
for the direct prototyping of such parts, except, as Phil pointed out, for
unique geometries that cannot be manufactured by conventional molding or
machining.

RP won't result in less tooling, but in cheaper, quicker and eventually
better tooling and, therefore, in quicker and cheaper production parts, up
to some high volume at which the conventional manufacture of parts for well
established products, which allow for longer lead times, will become more
economical.

If one were to compare the costs for Direct RP versus Indirect RP, given
FREE high production rate RP machines, I think the energy costs alone for
Direct RP would exceed the total costs for Indirect RP or conventional
production processes. Without running the numbers, it seems to me that the
energy efficiency of the additive processes for Direct RP is and will remain
too low to be a serious contender for direct manufacture.

Best Regards, Tom Richards, Metallurgist

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