Rapid Prototyping
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Prototypes in limited numbers
Materialise offers a few prototyping and copying techniques, which allow you to perform your design, colour, technology and marketing research on a small series of components:
Additive manufacturing is the collective term for layer by layer additive fabrication processes, which enable the direct rapid construction of production-grade parts without having to invest in a mould. This has obvious cost and lead-time advantages and also provides increased design freedom and the ability to instantly modify the design by simply printing the modified file. The three main technologies employed in additive manufacturing are selective laser sintering, fused deposition modelling and stereolithography.
FDM is a technology which produces superior production-grade functional components. The great advantage of this technique is the durability of the materials used, the stability of the mechanical properties over time and the dimensional quality of the parts produced. With the largest in-house Fused Deposition Modelling capacity in Europe we have the resources to comfortably handle large orders. Using FDM technology as an alternative to injection moulding enables design changes on the fly, by simply updating the file
Laser Sintering is an interesting and cost-effective alternative to injection moulding. With the EOSINT P700 machine, which has a large build area, a series of small pieces can be built in one single laser sintering process. This process dramatically decreases the price, as the cost of a laser sintered part depends on the volume of powder it takes to build it and not by an initial investment in an injection moulding tool. Moreover, series of laser sintered parts are available in a few days. So no need for high start-up investments, no long lead times to produce a tool and mould the parts, no difficulties in complex parts.
Stereolithography excels as an additive manufacturing technique in terms of a fast turnaround, excellent surface quality and in the case of Materialise’s patented Mammoth machines, build size also (2100 mm x 700 mm x 800 mm). With an extensive capacity of stereolithography machines, a wide range of ever improving materials and patented Mammoth stereolithography machines, Materialise are able to offer a world class additive manufacturing service.
Vacuum casting is an interesting, cost-efficient choice when you need a series of 10 to 20 prototypes to perform research on.
Read more about vacuum casting in our technology overview on this website
In case you need volumes of a few hundred copies to perform functional tests with or for low volume production, it is best to turn to injection mould tooling using aluminium moulds.
Our tooling team is able to offer top-class moulding and tooling solutions at very competitive prices with short lead times.
Read more about tooling in our technology overview on this website
