No abstract

Current additive rapid prototyping technologies fail to efficiently produce objects greater than 0.5m³ due to restrictions in build size and build time. Conversely large hot-wire cutting machines, able to cut large objects, often lack the ability to create surfaces with complex geometrical features. Therefore there is a need to develop rapid prototyping and manufacturing technologies capable of producing large objects in a rapid manner directly from CAD data. Large sized freeform objects made of soft materials, such as polystyrene foam, have numerous uses including; conceptual design of commercial products, automotive design, aerodynamic and hydrodynamic testing, advertising, film making, medical supports, sporting equipment and props for the entertainment industry. Plastic foam cutting rapid prototyping is a relatively new technology capable of producing large plastic foam objects directly from CAD data. This paper will describe nine such technologies that have been developed or are currently being developed at institutions around the world.

No abstract

No abstract

The findings reported in this paper provide a model for consistently achieving optimal cutting conditions when shaping foam plastic, such as polystyrene, with an electrically heated wire-based cutting tool. General relationships between wire temperature, power input, feed-rate, kerf width and work piece material composition were developed and an optimal machining algorithm was proposed and tested. The findings provide a significant advancement toward a fully automated machining facility and the associated development of a novel, large scale rapid manufacturing (RM) system.