Stereolithography - Its Application for Rapid Prototyping at Hughes Aircraft Company

A shrinking defense budget has forced severe competition within the Aerospace community. Systems that were usually sole source to one company are now up for grabs. To meet the competitive marketplace Hughes is examining all avenues and approaches to provide the same high quality systems at a much lower price. Rapid prototyping using Stereolithography provides a technology that is applicable to the manufacturing of many parts Hughes provides to the defense industry. Over the past two years a documented savings in excess of $5 million dollars was realized in the metal castings area alone. It is estimated that for 1993 similar savings will be realized for present production contracts. A complete change in the philosophy on how Hughes approaches system production was necessary and is being accomplished through rapid prototyping using stereolithography.