The Impact of Rapid Tooling in the Manufacturing Industry
In producing new parts and products, time and cost are becoming more valuable than ever. It can make or break a genius design. Therefore, it is essential to the injection molding industry to produce a prototype that can proceed to full production run quickly.
Rapid prototyping is there, but it cannot match the requirements for molds that can go into mass production quickly. The best option is always rapid tooling. It is the only process where the molds can facilitate the creation of prototypes from the same material as the finished product would be. Because of its close resemblance to series production, rapid tooling is more helpful in meeting the time and cost deadlines. Find out more about what rapid tooling can do in the manufacturing industry.
What is Rapid Tooling?
Rapid tooling or RT, as professionals would call it, is a faster technique used in producing prototypes. An excellent example of rapid tooling is 3D Printing. This is faster than traditional molding and tooling methods of prototyping and low volume production.
Rapid Tooling and Product Development
The new approach to rapid tooling involves converting the CAD models into tools and molds using a fast production technique. It has brought about significant changes in product development and shorten the time in producing them. Although the 3D printed parts cannot support mass production, it can help the manufacturers in testing and evaluating the design and quality in the early stage before going into the full production run.
There are two types of rapid tooling techniques – indirect and direct. When we say direct rapid tooling, it means that the prototyping processes involved the actual cavity and core mold inserts. It is particularly useful when the parts or products to be produced have complex geometries.
In indirect rapid tooling, rapid prototyping process is used to make a master pattern and to produce a tool through soft tooling. This method is seen in the production of plastic or sacrificial models used for metal casting.
3D Printing and Rapid Tooling
Additive manufacturing or 3D Printing is the critical process used in rapid tooling. When 3D Printing is used, manufacturers can have a functional prototype that is evaluated and tested for performance and quality. In small-volume production, 3D Printing can be a method to fulfill the requirements. Customization can be answered with additive methods too.
On the other hand, large volume production uses rapid tooling to test and verify the prototype. Once it is approved, manufacturers can use a more conventional approach like CNC machining to make industrial-grade tooling.
For rapid tooling services, Nice Rapid is a China company that can fulfill your company’s requirements. It is the first choice for rapid tooling for their expertise and experience.