A study of part placement for rapid prototyping process - Texas A&M University (TAMU) Scholar

Part placement in the working space of a rapid prototyping machine is an important factor in machine utilization. As the technology shifts from making just prototypes to being used as one of the methods for the actual part production, the more parts being made simultaneously the more economical will be the method, thus making it more affordable and preferred. In order to achieve high utilization, the operator needs to find the best possible way to place parts in the limited machine work space. It is desired to have an automatic part placement system instead of using a tedious manual adjustment. This paper discusses a geometric feature abstraction and part placement algorithm, two critical issues for implementing such an automatic system. A general review of rapid prototyping technologies is also given.

A study of part placement for rapid prototyping process Conference Paper