RAPID PROTOTYPES
O'Fallon Casting has achieved much success and customer satisfaction through
its Rapid Prototyping operations.
In recent years there have been many improvements made in the quality of pattern
surface finishes, pattern accuracy and pattern material alternatives. Today's
patterns are more user friendly to the near-net-shapes offered by the investment
casting process.
Rapid Prototype Benefits include:
- Reduced time to verify design and produce a functional system.
- Inexpensive method to use prior to constructing production tooling
- Inexpensive method to use for low volume production
- Inexpensive method to investigate conversion to near-net-shape investment
casting process from other methods of manufacture
- Rapid entry into the marketplace
- Rapid testing and system qualification while production tooling is being
constructed.
- Reduced over-all risk when introducing new technologies / systems
Rapid Prototyping utilizes patterns generated from a 3-D model from a CAD
file. Stereolithography
(SLA), Selective
Laser Sintering (SLS), and Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
are several of the technologies most commonly used to produce the expendable
Rapid Prototype patterns.
