PII: 0010-4485(95)00035-6

Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing (RP&M) technologies have emerged for quickly creating 3D products directly from computer-aided design systems. These technologies significantly improve the present prototyping practices in industry. This paper reviews the main technologies and applications of RP&M. The principles and the features of those RP&M technologies are presented. Some existing problems and research issues on these new technologies are introduced. We also include two current research and application examples in using rapid prototyping for further illustration.

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