Rapid Prototyping Applied to Parts Used in Static Tests of Racks for Packing and Transporting Automobile Parts

This work was motivated by the specific needs of a materials flow and packing planning sector (PFME), within a manufacturing engineering department of a vehicle assembly company in Brazil. In this sector, there is a growing need to obtain prototype parts in the shortest time and at the lowest cost possible in order to carry out static prototype tests of the special packing and transportation racks used in this company, since these racks need to be ready to assist the preparation phase of the series production of the vehicle. The objective of this work is to survey the academic theory and the existing literature in order to find an application proposal of rapid prototyping (RP) techniques to make the parts used in the rack tests, thus reducing time and acquisition costs. For that purpose, some limiting conditions were considered: first, the application of the RP technique is limited to the external parts of the vehicle, such as doors, front and back hoods, and fenders; second, the consulted suppliers should be available in the domestic market. Finally, a proposal of work systematics for the assembly company is presented.