Rapid Tooling for Complex Automotive Components

Rapid Tooling is a main area of interest within the ongoing Rapid Prototyping activity at SINTEF Production Engineering. We have developed an efficient and fast process for making dies for wax casting, (wax mould for high precision investment casting), preproduction tooling for injection moulding, and pattern making for sand casting, by using the Cubital Rapid Prototyping Process. Several rather complex components been made this way, and this presentation will focus on how we manipulate with the 3D part geometry in order of turning a part into a tool. Finally, there will also be reports from some of the applications showing how this is used in a practical manner. We have also an interesting application showing how one of Europe's main producer of equipment for the pulp and paper industry has changed his product develop methodology when developing new pump designs.