Department of Mechanical Engineering

Solid based Rapid prototyping systems

LOKESH N
Assistant Professor
Dept. of ME
LIQUID BASED RAPID SOLID BASED RAPID POWDER BASED RAPID
PROTOTYPING PROTOTYPING PROTOTYPING

STEREOLITHOGRAPHY LAMINATED OBJECT SELECTIVE LASER

APPARATUS MANUFACTURING SINTERING (SLS)

SOLID GROUND CURING FUSED DEPOSITION LASER ENGINEERED NET

(SGC), MODELING SHAPING (LENS),

SOLID OBJECT PAPER LAMINATION MULTIPHASE JET

ULTRAVIOLET-LASER TECHNOLOGY SOLIDIFICATION (MJS)
PRINTER (SOUP),

RAPID FREEZE MULTI-JET MODELING ELECTRON BEAM MELTING

PROTOTYPING AND SYSTEM (MJM) (EBM)
MICROFABRICATION
 WHAT IS LAMINATED OBJECT
MANUFACTURING ?

1.It is type of solid rapid

prototyping used to
create low cost 3D
model using lasers
LOM EQUIPMENT AND PROCESS
 3D MODEL

SLICE

SET OF LAYER

CONTOUR GENERATION

FINAL JOINING

LOM PARTS
 Basic Process
 Material is usually a paper sheet laminated with
adhesive on one side, but plastic and metal
laminates are appearing.
 Layers the material with thickness ranges from 0.001 –
0.005 inches Each layer is cut with a CO2 laser

 Layer fabrication starts with sheet being adhered to

substrate with the heated roller
 The laser then traces out the outline of the layer.
 Non-part areas are cross-hatched to facilitate the
removal of waste.
 Once the laser cutting is complete, the platform moves
down and out of the way so that fresh sheet material
can be rolled into position
 The process can now be repeated.
What gets made?

LOM is used primarily for creating scaled models

and conceptual prototypes that can be tested for
form or design. It can also be used to make
patterns for use in traditional manufacturing, such
as sand molded casting, a metal casting process
and for Investment casting patterns ,direct use
OBJECT MADE BY LOM
LOM at home
Printers use this technology to generate
3d image
Advantages
• Wide variety of materials
• Fast build time
• High precision
• Support structure

Disadvantages
• Precise power adjustment
• Fabrication of thin walls
• Integrity of prototypes
• Removal of supports
Advantages
• Fabrication of functional parts.
• Minimal wastage
• Ease of support removal
• Ease of material change.

Disadvantages
• Restricted accuracy
• Slow process
• Unpredictable shrinkage
PAPER LAMINATION TECHNOLOGY (PLT)

 Paper Lamination Technology (PLT), formerly known as Selective Adhesive and Hot Press
(SAHP)
 The process is somewhat similar to that of the LOMTM process, except that no laser is
used and a flat hot-plate press is used instead of rollers
 The process includes six steps:
• generating a model and printing resin powder,
• hot pressing,
• cutting the contour,
• completing the block,
• removing excess material and
• post processing
First, the 3D data (STL files) of the model to be built is loaded onto
the PC [Figure 4.9(a)]. The model is then oriented within the system,
with the help of the software, for the best orientation for the build
[Figure 4.9(b)]. Once this is achieved, the system software will proceed
to slice the model [Figure 4.9(c)] and generate the printing data based
on the section data of the model [Figure 4.9(d)]. The resin powder or
toner is applied on a sheet of paper using a typical laser stream printer
and is referred to as the Xerography process (i.e., photocopying). The
printed area is the common area of two consecutive sections of the
model.
A sheet alignment mechanism then adjusts the printed sheet of paper
onto the previous layer on the model (the first layer starts from the
table). A hot press then moves over them with the printed sheet pressed
to a hot plate at high pressure. The temperature controlled hot press
melts the toner (resin powder), which adheres the sheets together
[Figure 4.9(e)]. The hot press also flattens the top surface and prevents
the formation of air bubbles between the sheets. The PC measures
the amount of movement up to the hot plate to compensate for any
deviation of the sheet thickness.
 Advantages
Flatness. The PLT process uses a flat plate and high pressure to
bond the layers together. Each layer is pressed with a flat hot plate
and the model remains flat during the entire build process
Surface smoothness. The PLT process uses a computerized knife to
cut sheets of paper which result in a smooth surface for the built
model. Better surface finishing can be further attained by simple
wood working tools.
Hardness. High lamination pressure used in the PLT process has
resulted in products that are 25% harder than equivalent wood
and this is often strong enough for most prototyping applications,
including sand casting.
Support structures. Additional support structures are not necessary
in the PLT process as the part is supported by its own material that
is outside the perimeter of the cut-path
Support structures. Additional support structures are not
necessary
in the PLT process as the part is supported by its own material that
 Disadvantages
Inability to vary layer thickness. Fabrication time is slow in the Z-
direction as the process builds prototypes layer by layer, and the height of
each layer is fixed by the thickness of the paper used. Thus, the speed of
the build cannot be easily increased as the thickness of the paper used
cannot be varied.
Fabrication of thin walls. Like the LOMTM process, the PLT process is
also not well suited for building parts with delicate thin walls, especially
walls that are extended in the Z-direction.
Internal voids. Models with internal voids cannot be fabricated within a
single build as it is impossible to remove the unwanted support materials
from within the “void.
Removal of supports. Similar to that of the LOMTM process, the most
labor-intensive part of the build comes at the end — separating the part
from the support material
 3D SYSTEMS’ MULTI-JET
MODELING
SYSTEM (MJM)
1.ThermoJet uses the ThermoJet Printer Client Software to input “sliced” STL files from the
CAD software. The ThermoJet Printer Client Software is a powerful software which allows
users to verify the preloaded STL files and auto-fix any errors where necessary. The software
also helps users to auto-position the parts to be built so as to optimize building space and time.
After all details have been finalized, the data is placed in a queue, ready for ThermoJet to
build the model.
(2) During the build process, the head is positioned above the platform. The head begins
building the first layer by depositing materials as it moves in the X-direction. As the
machine’s print head contains a total of 352 heads and measures 200 mm across, it is able to
deposit material faster and more efficiently as compared to the older model, ActuaTM 2100
(which has only 96 heads).
(3) With a print head measuring 200 mm across, ThermoJet is able to build a model with a
width of up to 200 mm in a single pass. If the model’s wide is greater than 200 mm, then the
platform is repositioned (Y-axis) to continue building in the X-direction until the entire layer is
completed.
(4) After one layer is completed, the platform is lowered and the building of the next layer
begins in the same manner as described in Steps 2 and 3.
(5) The process continues with the continual repetition of Steps 2 to 4 until the part is
complete, after which the part is ready for instant removal and review with no further need for
post-processing or post-curing.

Advantages
Efficient and ease of use
Cost-effective
Fast build time

Disadvantages
Small build volume
Limited materials
Weak accuracy
 CAM-LEM
• CAM-LEM (Computer Aided Manufacturing of Laminated Engineering
Materials)
• The process uses the “form-thenbond” laminating principle where the contour of the
cross section is first cut before laminating it to the previous layers
Process
• prototyping methods, originates from a CAD model decomposed into the boundary
contours of thin slices
• In the CAM-LEM process these individual slices are laser cut from a sheet stock of
engineering material (such as “green” ceramic tape) as per the computed contours.
• The resulting part-slice regions are extracted from the sheet stock and stacked to
assemble a physical 3D realization of the original CAD description.
• The assembly operation includes a tacking procedure that fixes the position of each
sheet relative to the pre-existing stack.
• After assembly, the layers are laminated by warm isostatic pressing (or other
suitable method) to achieve intimate interlayer contact, promoting high integrity
bonding in the subsequent sintering operation.
• The laminated “green” object is then fired (with an optimized heating schedule to
densify the object and fuse the layers and particles within the layers) into a
monolithic structure
CAM-LEM process
Advantages
 Elimination of interior voids and channels.
 Laser power adjustment.
 High-quality prototypes
 Adjustable build layers
Disadvantages
 Significant shrinkage
 Precise alignment
 Lacks natural supports
Applications
The CAM-LEM process has been used mainly to create rapid tools for
manufacturing. Functional prototypes and even production of ceramic and
metal components have been built