Rapid tooling manufacturing
Method for rapid tooling manufacturing comprising the steps of first building an SFF pattern made of plastic to be used to make a first die half. Then there is the step of spraying metal onto the pattern to form a first metal substrate.
Next, there is the step of separating the substrate from the SFF pattern to form the first die half. Then there is the step of building a second SFF pattern to be used to make a second die half. Next, there is the step of spraying metal onto the second SFF pattern to form a second metal substrate. Then there is the step of separating the second metal substrate from the second SFF pattern to form the second die half.
In a preferred embodiment, the method for rapid tooling manufacturing the second die half is formed by first the step of building an SFF model of a part to be molded. Then, there is the step of inserting the model into the first die half. Next, there is the step of spraying metal onto the model in the first die half to form a second metal substrate. Then there is the step of separating the second metal substrate from the model and the first die half to form the second die half.
The capability to manufacture a wide variety of quality products in a timely and cost-effective response to market requirements is a key to global competitiveness. The opportunities for improving manufacturing technology range across the entire spectrum of industries, materials, and manufacturing techniques. There is no single technological innovation which, by itself, will significantly improve productivity; rather it is a systems issue which involves rethinking many manufacturing activities.
One such activity is the manufacture of toolinging (i.e., design, prototype, and fabrication) such as dies required for the high-volume production methods that generate most of our manufactured products. toolinging manufacture is typically an expensive and time-consuming process. The reasons lie not only in the fabrication costs and time constraints imposed by conventional machining methods, but also in the organizational framework.
In most organizations, different groups employ different processes to design and manufacture toolings and products, and the expertise in tooling design and product design reside in different groups, impeding communications between them. The representational and physical models used in design, prototyping, and manufacturing are often incompatible with one another, so that transitions between the stages are time-consuming and error-prone.
Products often make several complete cycles through design, prototyping, and fabrication before reaching production. Thus, new product development or product modification implies a series of iterative changes for both product manufacturers and toolingmakers. For all these reasons, a rapid and smooth transition from product concept to production remains a challenge.
The present invention pertains to a method for rapid tooling manufacturing. The method comprises the steps of first building an SFF pattern made of plastic to be used to make a first die half. Then there is the step of spraying metal onto the pattern without any solid layer between the pattern and the metal to form a first metal substrate. Next, there is the step of separating the substrate from the SFF pattern to form the first die half. Then there is the step of building a second SFF pattern to be used to make a second die half. Next, there is the step of spraying metal onto the second SFF pattern to form a second metal substrate. Then there is the step of separating the second metal substrate from the second SFF pattern to form the second die half.
In a preferred embodiment, the method for rapid tooling manufacturing of the second die half is formed by first the step of building an SFF model of a part to be molded. Then, there is the step of inserting the model into the first die half. Next, there is the step of spraying metal onto the model in the first die half to form a second metal substrate. Then there is the step of separating the second metal substrate from the model and the first die half to form the second die half.
The invention is also a method for rapid tooling manufacturing which is characterized by the steps of building an SFF pattern from a computer-based geometrical model followed by robotically spraying metal onto the SFF pattern in correspondence with the computer based geometric model. Preferably, before the building step, there is the step of creating the computer-based geometric model on a CAD/CAM system.
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