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Masterclasses in rapid prototyping at TCT 2002

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Sep 4, 2002

DSM Somos is working with Time Compression Technologies Europe to provide further technology learning opportunities at next month's 2002 TCT Exhibition and Conference.

DSM Somos is working with Time Compression Technologies Europe to provide further technology learning opportunities at the 2002 TCT Exhibition and Conference (MICC, Manchester, UK - 16th-17th October 2002).

The collaboration will fall within the framework of the rapid prototyping masterclasses, conducted in conjunction with the conference.

The seminars will study applications and processes and are directed at providing newcomers and industry professionals alike with an overall background of machine and material opportunities in the rapid product development (RPD) industry.

The seminars will be conducted by independent industry professionals, and will research applications that cover sintering, photopolymer, fused deposition modelling and conceptual model making technologies.

Ty Bacon, sales and marketing manager at DSM Somos affirms: "This is an excellent opportunity for end users of RP technologies.

Engineers and designers have shown in the past year a significant interest in seeing how differences in RP technologies and materials will affect the translation of CAD data into prototypes for functional evaluation, before proceeding into manufacturing".

Bacon continued, "The TCT Rapid Product Development conference and exhibition provides an excellent arena to evaluate the possibilities of additive manufacturing.

DSM Somos has always been a strong supporter of sharing technology developments, goals and awareness within the industry.

Our collaboration with the seminars is in line with this philosophy".

The Time-Compression Technologies event is internationally recognised as the largest rapid product development conference to take place in Europe.

The goal of the organizers is to provide engineering, design and manufacturing professionals with an opportunity to develop their awareness of the latest advances in time- and money-saving product development solutions, without the bias associated from a sales perspective.

The TCT Conference and fair has become one of the primary annual meeting places where product engineers from all industry sectors can network and meet colleagues from other global areas to share and learn from each others' experiences.

The rapid prototyping masterclasses, conducted in conjunction with the conference, are introductory level master-classes on RP processes and applications.

Designed and led by independent experts in the RPD industry, they are a cost-effective way of enabling industry professionals to get up to speed with basic RP technologies.

Absolutely no prior RP knowledge or experience is necessary; it is the chance for new team members and industry professionals alike to put questions directly to those in the know.

The seminars will allow participants to view and compare a variety of applications and processes realized by different machines and materials.

Among the materials in examination will be the complete line of Somos ProtoFunctional materials - including Somos WaterShed and Somos ProtoTherm.

These materials represent the company's newest product innovations and offer respectively optical clarity in combination with extreme humidity resistance and unmatched thermal resistance in combination with superior mechanical properties.

The RP processes masterclass will be led by Graham Tromans, Land Rover, UK, evaluating the cost, time, accuracy and ease of use of all the rapid prototyping methods available: STL data generation and translation, photopolymer/stereolithography (SL), selective laser sintering (SLS), laminated object manufacturing (LOM), fused deposition modelling (FDM), solid ground curing and 3D printing.

The RP applications masterclass will be led by Joel Segal, Nottingham University, UK.

This will be a look at how and where RP is being adopted, functional prototypes (rapid manufacturing), materials overview (available RP materials and their application suitability), and a comparison of rapid tooling technologies, evaluating their life-time, lead time, accuracy and cost.