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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BOMBAY

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Course : ME-617 Rapid Product Development
Instructor : K.P. Karunakaran
Date : November 2, 2011 (Wednesday) 9:30PM
L-T-P-C : 3-0-0-6
I Semester 2011-12
Duration : 60 min.
Instructions:
Answer all the questions; answer as briefly as
possible.
Roll No
Marks /40

TEST 6: Rapid Prototyping (SLS, 3DP, Applications & Issues); Rapid
Manufacturing (Introduction, RM of Non-metallic Objects)

Part A
(1 mark each)

1. Expand FGM. Which characteristic of RP is exploited in making FGM objects?

FGM Functionally Gradient Materials.

RP process by default is anisotropic.

2. What is the other name of Silicon Rubber Molding?

Vacuum Casting.

3. Which operation is common between 3D KelTool and SLS?

Post-build operations in the furnace (burning to remove binder, sintering and copper
impregnation)

4. What is the connection between 3D KelTool and Silicon Rubber Molding?

3D KelTool uses Silicon Rubber Molding to produce the molds of the die halves. These
rubber molds used to cast the die halves from the slurry of metallic powder and binder.

5. For a given undercut-free geometry and material, Arrange the following processes in the
decreasing order of the number of pieces they can manufacture: (a) Epoxy Tooling, (b)
Silicon Rubber Molding, (c) 3D Keltool, (d) Spray Metal Tooling.

(c) 3D Keltool
(d) Spray Metal Tooling
(a) Epoxy Tooling
(b) Silicon Rubber Molding



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Part B
(Weightage is mentioned against each question)

1. Explain the four bottlenecks to be overcome for RP to evolve into RM. [3]

In order for RP to evolve into RM, the following bottlenecks have to be overcome:

i. Poor quality
ii. Short life
iii. Long cycle time
iv. High cost.

Todays rapid prototypes leave much to be desired in terms of the quality of geometry
(accuracy and surface finish) and that of material (strength, variety, availability in open
market, homogeneity, size etc.). While the resolution of a CNC machine is as low as
0.001mm, it is over 0.100mm in RP due to the stair steps. One can get virtually any
surface finish by an appropriate choice of machining processes which is not possible in
RP. In fact, talking of engineering surface finish for rapid prototypes is meaningless.
Dimensional accuracy of the rapid prototypes is simply pathetic when compared to the
machined parts. It depends on the particle size of the raw material, layer thickness,
resolution of the motion control etc. Layer thickness can be considerably less in liquid-
based processes such as SLA. But thinner the slices more are the layers time cost.
Being a curing process, the beam properties could also alter the already cured layer
beneath if the layer thicknesses are reduced beyond a certain extent. Thus existing RP
technologies are plagued with limitations and compromises thereby not lending
themselves for regular production.

Unlike a CNC machine, each RP machine can handle only a certain types of
materials. LOM can handle only paper rolls; SLA, SGC, ObJ et and Envision can handle
only photopolymer resins; FDM can handle only thermoplastics; and so on. As any
material can be prepared and mixed in the form of powder, SLS and 3DP are better than
the other RP processes in terms of material flexibility. In fact, 3DP is the best of all RP
processes since it can permit material deposition from two sources. 3DP has been
successfully used to produce functionally gradient build ups build ups that vary in
material composition and hence in properties (such as hardness, color etc.). Nevertheless,
the material flexibility of even 3DP is nowhere near the conventional manufacturing
processes such as CNC machining, casting, injection molding etc. in terms of their ability
to handle a variety of materials and volumes. One can produce parts out of any material
on a CNC machine by using appropriate cutting conditions and any number of parts from
minimum batch of one. On the other hand, if a new material is to be used on a RP
machine, elaborate experimentation is required to fine-tune the process for the new
material. Due to this as well as the commercial interests, the raw materials for any RP
machine are proprietary. Furthermore, all RP processes inherently exhibit anisotropy. As
they are invariably made in slices and woven within the layer, their properties are
distinctly different in horizontal and vertical directions. Interestingly, this inherent
inhomogeneity of RP is exploited to build FGMs by focusing the inhomogeneity in a
desired way.

Due to these quality restrictions, rapid prototypes have poor life. A plastic part in
regular production using cavity tools can be made in a few seconds using injection
molding and the same is achieved for metallic parts using die casting. As against these,
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the layer-by-layer approach of RP would take several hours in RP. Therefore, todays RP
is unacceptably slow and costly for Rapid Manufacture.

2. Name at least three strategies adopted in RP to improve its speed. [2]

Use of multiple tools heads
Faster processes
Hybrid systems
New slicing concepts

3. Explain the possible modifications to slicing to enhance build speed and quality. [3]

The slicing method introduced in 1987 on the first RP machine is uniform slicing of 0
th

order edge approximation (see figure below). This slicing method is simple but it takes
long to build the parts and suffers from stair step errors. The figure shows various other
possibilities of slicing which the researchers have been exploring. The two goals here are
(i) to represent the required geometry in as small number of slices as possible, (ii) to
represent the desired geometry in terms of slices with minimum deviations. Adaptive
slicing and higher order of edge approximations lead towards these goals. However, there
has not been much success till now in the physical implementation of these advanced
slicing concepts.



4. What drug has material gradience? Explain how Therics manufactures them. [2]

Time Delivery Drug.

Therics uses 3D Printing for producing these drugs. 3D Printing is the only process that
dispenses materials from two sources. This feature is made use of. The binder from top is
the drug whose flow rate can be controlled as it is dispensed over a powder-bed of the
matrix.

The tablet dissolves proportional to the boundary surface area, i.e., it dissolves in a
conformal manner. The physician specifies the drug delivery vs. time curve. These two
facts will be used to arrive at the flow rate of the drug at different (x,y) positions in
various layers (z).

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5. What is meant by FGM in the context of ZCorp RP machine and how it produces FGM
objects? [2]

Variation in the color of the matrix.

Instead of from a single nozzle, binder, which is water, is dispensed from multiple
nozzles, each having water of different colors. By controlling the flow rate of these
nozzles independently, one can get the desired color at any point. This is very similar to
color inkjet printing.

6. Powder-bed technologies are less amenable to FGMs than deposition technologies. Agree
or disagree with suitable reasoning along with exceptions if any. [2]

Yes, powder-bed technologies are less amenable for FGM. This is because the powder
tray contains material of single composition. It is generally difficult to have multiple trays
with different composition of powder for use in different layers, leave alone having
different compositions at different points in the same layer. On the other hand, in
deposition technologies, it will be possible have multiple wires or powder nozzles whose
feed rate can be controlled to get FGM.

The exception to this is 3DP which is capable of FGM. This is because the material is
dispensed from two sources which can be independently controlled.

7. Which one between SLS and 3DP is amenable for FGMs? Which distinct feature of the
process is responsible for this capability? [2]

3DP is more amenable for FGM. This is because the material is dispensed from two
sources which can be independently controlled.

8. Discuss the limitations of existing geometric modeling tools to design FGM objects. How
is it to be overcome? [3]

Existing geometric models store only the boundary and assume the interior homogeneous.
Therefore, inherently, they are not suitable for modelling FGM objects. While the
existing CAD models have one representation for user-friendliness and a second
representation for system-friendliness, a third representation is required to define the
interior property variations. This third representation may be inexact and discrete such as
voxel representation.

9. Explain Silicon Rubber Molding process including the special nature of its parting
surface. What are its significant advantages and limitations with respect to the other RM
processes for non-metals? [5]

The price of RP parts has a linear relationship with the quantity required. Therefore, in
situations where one requires multiple prototypes, the first prototype is made using RP
and one of the indirect processes is used for its duplication. Silicon Rubber Mold (SRM),
is one such duplication process capable of 15-50 parts depending on the geometric
complexity. Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) rubber is used to make the mold.

The steps followed to make the mold are:

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A master pattern is prepared. Formerly this used to be prepared using hand carving,
manual or CNC machining. Now these master patterns can be made using RP. Almost
any RP model can be used. SLA, SGC, SLS, LOM and FDM models have been
successfully tried. The master pattern should be nicely polished and cleaned before
use. This is because the process can faithfully reproduce even finger prints on a glass.
SLA is the most preferred.
A sprue is mounted on the master and glued. This assembly is wiped clean with a soft
cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Hand gloves are to be used during handling
these.
A wooden or metal box is used for preparing the mold. The pattern-sprue assembly is
placed inside on top of thin supports. If feasible, it can be suspended by a thread from
the sprue.
The liquid silicone RTV resin is mixed with its hardener under vacuum to eliminate
air bubbles.
It is then poured into the box over the pattern while still under vacuum.
The assembly is then placed in a low temperature curing oven maintained at about
50C for about 6-12 hours. Thus curing takes place under vacuum at a slightly
elevated temperature.
This process is exothermic. Thus, some parts of the mold will have more temperature
than the oven. Therefore, after the curing period, the oven should be slowly cooled to
room temperature.
The solidified RTV mold is extracted from the mold box. This is split into two halves
by cutting along an appropriate wavy parting surface using a sharp knife or scalpel.
The parting surface must be wavy at the outside so as the locate the halves on each
other. However, the inside of the parting surface shall be smooth and ensure
extraction of the part. Cutting this parting surface is a skilled job mastered over a
period.

The steps followed to make a part using this mold are:

Assemble the mold back and tie with adhesive tape or staples.
The raw material of the part is available in two parts. Mix them in right proportion
and weights.
Stirr them inside the vacuum chamber. If necessary, add pigment while stirring.
The clear mix is poured into the rubber mold till it overflows a little.
Put the mold back into the vacuum chamber.
Once the part is cured, open the mold and take out.
Trim and finish.

Advantages:
Fast and economical.
As it is flexible, slight reentrant or undercut features can be produced. There is also
no need for draft. So it produces accurate parts.
Reproduction accuracy is extremely high. Even transparent parts such as lamp lenses
can be made. Even fine scratches on the master get reproduced faithfully. Therefore,
the master should be polished and cleaned before used for mold making.
Suitable for many resins.
Used in jewelry industry for producing the wax patterns.

Limitations:
As the mold is soft and will deform under pressure, it cannot be used for injection
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molding. Only vacuum casting is possible which is labor intensive. Clamping and
injection pressures have to be low.
Not suitable for metals.
Long cycle times of 4-6 hours of part curing for a size of about 8 in
3
. This is due to
poor heat conductivity of the mold.
Relative strength of mold limits its life. Therefore, high piece price.

10. How do the polymerization methods differ in both the direct RP processes and the
indirect RM process? [3]

In direct processes like SLA, SGC, Objet and EnvisionTech, light energy is used for
polymerization. In indirect processes like Silicon Rubber Molding or Epoxy Tooling, the
monomer resin is available separately from a hardener. When they are mixed in
appropriate proportion, an exo-thermic reaction occurs which leads to polymerization. It
also results in the generation of gases which have to be vacuumed out.

11. Present the six groups of RM for metals in the form of an inverted tree. [3]



12. Reproduce the following table and fill the empty boxes choosing from [high, ok]. [2]
Process Category
Quality of
Material Geometry
Subtractive RM
Additive RM
Hybrid RM
Indirect RM

Process Category
Quality of
Material Geometry
Subtractive RM High High
Additive RM Ok Ok
Hybrid RM Ok High
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Indirect RM High Ok

13. What are the benefits of conformal cooling channels in an injection mold? Explain how
RP influences their manufacture. [3]

Reduced cycle time
Less distortions
Better material integrity

Traditionally only straight cooling channels were feasible. As RP is additive, it enables
incorporation of these channels. Powder-bed (such as SLS) as well as deposition
processes (such as LENS and HLM)) for metallic RM are able to build them.