What is Direct Metal Laser Sintering?
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) from EOS involves the direct processing of metal powders in a laser sintering machine. […]
What is Laminated Tooling?
Laminated tooling is an alternative to building cavities directly on an RP machine. Using the similar principles to the Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) process, layers of sheet metal are cut to replicate slices through a CAD model. Laser cutting or water jet technologies generally produce the profiles. To produce a mold tool, the CAD model [...]
What is LENS?
The Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) system from Optomec (Albuquerque, New Mexico) -originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories – builds parts using a metal powder feed into a laser, […]
What is Controlled Metal Build-up (CMB)?
Albrecht R”ders GmbH & Co KG (Soltau, Germany) has commercialized a process called Controlled Metal Buildup (CMB). […]
What is Reverse Engineering?
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accomplishes a task with very little (if any) insight into exactly how it does so. Depending on the system under [...]
What is Indirect Methods of Rapid Tooling?
Several pattern-based processes have been developed for creating a mold rapidly, with varying costs, leadtimes and process capabilities. […]
What is RTV Silicone Rubber Molds?
One of the most popular tooling applications for RP is the production of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber molds. […]
What is Vacuum Casting?
Plastic parts are vacuum cast by placing a silicone tool in a vacuum chamber with a polyurethane resin. […]
What is RIM?
Unlike vacuum casting, the Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) process does not rely on expensive vacuum chambers and mixing units. […]
What is Wax Injection Molding?
In addition to two-part resin molding, silicone cavities also are suitable for low-pressure injection molding of waxes for investment casting. […]