Rapid Prototyping Research Paper

Acknowledgements

Abstract
Rapid prototyping is a generic term for a number of technologies that enable components to be made without the need for conventional tooling in the first instance using three¬¬-dimensional Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing. It is an additive layer manufacturing. Cam shaft is a component in which a set of cams becomes an integral part to a shaft placed in its respective positions and directions according to its application. Cam shaft are used in automobile, aerospace and marine industries. In automobiles they are used in engines for the operation of inlet and outlet valves.
Cam shafts manufacturing requires high precision since timing errors in opening and closing of the ports is not acceptable.

Manual prototyping by a skilled craftsman has been an age old practice for many centuries. With the help of rapid prototyping systems the need for skilled model makers is eliminated. Many manufacturing processes are subtractive, in which the final desired shaped is obtained from the raw material by removing parts of the raw material. Milling and turning are commonly used examples of subtractive processes. Rapid prototyping techniques are additive processes, the component is built up layer by

The raw materials used are in the powdered form. The fact that powder is used as the base material limits the quality of the surface finish of the final part.
1.3.1 Method
A layer of powdered material is deposited on a platform. A laser beam traces out the cross-section of one slice of the part. Where the laser beam hits the powder, the affected particles fuse together (or sinter) (Figure 3). Another layer of powder is then deposited on top of the previous layer using a roller mechanism, and another slice of the part is sintered onto the sintered material in the previous slice. The unsintered material in each layer can act as a support structure for the part itself. When the part is complete, the unsintered material can simply be brushed off.
1.3.2 Advantages
• No post-curing of the parts is needed, unless they are ceramic.
• Parts can often be built without additional support structures.
1.3.3 Disadvantages
• Surfaces of the parts are porous.
• Process machines can take a long time to heat up and cool