Wohlers Associates

Industry Briefing
March 2005

Future of Rapid Prototyping

Without question, the industry is on the brink of monumental change. No longer just a technical curiosity, additive processes for rapid prototyping and other applications have become ingrained in product development methods around the world. It is a rare company that has not used or benefited from it in some way. Rather than reaching a level of maturity, it seems the industry is at the start of a surge in new processes, materials, and systems that will lead to new customers and applications.

With more than 15 years of growth and development, additive fabrication has developed into three primary technology and application areas: 3D printing for concept modeling, mainstream rapid prototyping for fit and function applications, and rapid manufacturing for final production-quality parts. As a result, the industry is beginning to see more specialized development in systems and materials. Until recently, nearly all systems were general-purpose solutions that tried to meet a wide range of needs. New products are increasingly targeted toward specific application types.

The three application areas shown at http://wohlersassociates.com/future.html represent the total activity of additive fabrication technology, which includes exponential growth over time. As companies are forced to improve time to market, they will eliminate steps, such as the number of prototypes they build. At the same time, they will produce quick and inexpensive “throwaway” models very early in the design cycle when engineering changes are inexpensive. Essentially, they will move much of the modeling and prototyping activity, as we know it today, upstream into the engineering office.

The unit sales information reported by Wohlers Associates in the past makes it is apparent that this prediction has begun to occur. For years, this has been the vision of a few individuals, and while it has been slow to develop, the low-end segment is beginning to mushroom as 3D printer prices decline and capabilities advance. Meanwhile, an exciting range of organizations in aerospace, medicine, the military, and consumer products are using the technology to rapidly manufacture end-use products.

The previous information was taken from Wohlers Report 2004, 270-page global market study. The report's table of contents, as well as additional information on the market and industry, are available at http://wohlersassociates.com.

Wohlers Talk: Rhino and its STL Tools

Once in awhile, a product emerges and sets itself apart from others in its ratio of price to performance. One such product is Rhino, which sells for $895 in the U.S. ($195 for faculty and students). The designs that are possible with Rhino are striking. I got involved with the software when it first rolled out in prerelease form in late 1996. Around that time, I was assisting a manufacturer of footwear products in Brazil with its product development process. The company was about to purchase $30,000 worth of Alias software and hardware. However, I persuaded the company to give Rhino a look. The designers in Brazil downloaded and installed a beta version of the software, began to work with it, and were producing sophisticated designs within one week. Alias Studio would have required expensive training and an estimated six months of practice before the company could have reached the same level of productivity. Needless-to-say, the client was ecstatic with the discovery of Rhino.

Robert McNeel & Associates, the producer of Rhino, has constantly made improvements to the product since it was first introduced. Last year, the company published an STL while paper that explains the STL file repair tools that are free in Rhino 3.0 as a part of the Bonus Tools plug-ins. The 53-page paper provides tutorials that step you through what's available. The tools permit you to display an STL model in wireframe, flat shaded, and smooth shaded views. Also, you can render the model with color, transparency, gloss, and texture, and add backlighting. The tools enable you to reverse surface normals, remove unwanted detail, fill unwanted holes and gaps, show and stitch naked edges, remove unwanted faces, and add thickness to a mesh.

Don't let Rhino's low price fool you. It is a very serious product design tool that is used by thousands of organizations worldwide. If you use STL files for rapid prototyping, consider Rhino's rich set of STL repair capabilities. If you're unsure, download the fully functional software that allows you to save 25 times. This evaluation version also supports the plug-ins.

Note: Wohlers Talk is a web log (blog) that offers views, perspective, and commentary related to rapid product development and other topics of interest. Fifty-nine commentaries have been published since February 2003. To view them, visit http://wohlersassociates.com and click "Wohlers Talk."