Anyone ever look at the Rapid Prototyping sector and it's potential for growth? Appears to be in it's infancy with the hope someday that these machines become as common as a laser printer.
Leader TDSC, followed by DTMC and SSYS. (note: TDSC in the process of trying to aquire DTMC).
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"People order everything from game pieces to replicas of old toys that have gone bye-bye."
KARL DENTON -- OWNER, TOYBUILDERS, CUSTOM
Cyber cloning
3-D computer images can be quickly turned into hands-on prototypes
MARTIN J. MOYLAN STAFF WRITER
They're certainly not as fast or versatile as Star Trek's "replicators," which, in a few seconds, could whip up anything from a glass of Romulan wine to a spare part for a warp drive.
But a new generation of rapid prototyping (RP) machines is bringing science fiction closer to reality.
The machines take three-dimensional computer designs and turn them into objects made in a variety of materials, including wax, metal, plastic and even chocolate, meticulously building them layer by layer.
To show off its new Titan rapid prototyping machine at a Cincinnati trade show earlier this month, Eden Prairie-based Stratasys had it turn out polycarbonate golf balls and invited attendees to give them a whack. The balls not only had enough zing to travel 250 yards but they were durable enough to dent several clubs.
"I see a day when companies will buy these in the 100s, instead of dozens,'' says Scott Crump, founder and CEO of Stratasys. "They'll be like printers. When they get down to $5,000, you'll see them in homes.''
The idea behind rapid prototyping, which has been around for about 13 years, is to "print'' objects. A device much like a printer head meticulously adds layer after layer of a substance to create a 3D object. The most sophisticated RP machines work to tolerances of plus/minus 1/1000th of an inch per inch.
The breadth of customers and range of rapid prototyping applications is growing as prices drop and more engineers use 3D computer-aided design programs, says Crump.
"The majority of our customers are new every year,'' he says. "We're still in the immature stage of this industry.''
Using traditional hand sculpting or machining methods, it can take days or weeks to make models, prototypes and master patterns for tooling and production. But RP machines can make them in hours, generating them from a designer's three-dimensional computer-aided design. Some machines can turn out items two to three feet in diameter.
Ford, Boeing, DaimlerChrysler, Sunbeam, Black & Decker, Disney, Mattel, Toro, Polaris and scores of other companies use rapid prototyping machines to build actual size or scale models of everything from engine blocks and toaster parts to airplanes and the latest action figure dolls. They go to mass production once they have the prototypes finalized.
RP technology is employed to make limited production runs of needed parts, too, at a cost of a few dollars to several hundred dollars. In fact, NASA is considering the using Stratasys machines to make spare parts in space.
"It's very expensive to carry spare parts into space,'' says Beth Israelnaim, chairwoman of the Rapid Prototyping Association. "So, they're looking at how they can manufacture parts when they're up there. And they're looking at materials on the moon to see if it's possible to use them to produce parts.''
Align Technology, www.invisalign.com, uses RP machines from California-based 3D Systems to produce custom clear plastic orthodontia for older teens and adults. The Bethesda, Md., Naval Hospital uses Stratasys RP machines to make pre-surgical models that help surgeons better plan head and face reconstructions and other operations.
"A 3D model you can hold in your hands is better than any X-Ray,'' says Capt. Charles Richardson of the National Naval Medical Center's radiology department. "The surgical team can better plan its approach. We are just getting started with this. We'll do models of carotid arteries, the renal vessels, the kidney ... so that surgeons can get a view of things before going in.''
In the past year or so, the hospital has made about 75 models for 57 patients,
Michigan-based ToyBuilders.com uses machines from a number of RP manufacturers to produce everything from Monopoly game pieces that look like your kids to impossible-to-find parts for vintage Ferraris.
Customers may pay anywhere from $45 to $2,500 or more for ToyBuilders, www.toybuilders.com, custom productions.
"People order everything from game pieces to replicas of old toys that have gone bye-bye,'' says owner Carl Denton.
Rapid prototyping (RP) system sales grew to a record high in 2000, according to Colorado-based Wohlers Associates, which tracks the industry.
Twenty-three system manufacturers worldwide sold 1,320 RP systems in 2000, compared to 1,178 in the previous year. That brought the cumulative total of RP machines deployed to 6,755 in 58 countries. Their price tags: anywhere from $45,000 to $300,000 or more. Overall RP machine sales reached $242 million in 2000, up from $237 million in 1999, according to Wohlers' annual industry report, Wohlers Report 2001, www.wohlersassociates.com .
Wohlers Associates president Terry Wohlers expects RP sales to grow steadily as more companies switch from 2D to 3D computer-aided design and machines drop in price. That should make them attractive to even companies that now rely on cheap foreign workers to handcraft models.
"It's like computers,'' says Wohlers of the spread of RP machines. "They started out as big mainframes, very centralized. Then with desktops, we saw the devices get closer to the end users. Now, companies are putting (RP) machines with work groups, bringing them much closer to the users.''
The RP industry leader in sales is 3D Systems. It earned $8.1 million on sales of $110 million in 2000. Number two was Austin, Taxes-based DTM Corp., which earned $3.3 million on sales of $40 million. Number three Stratasys earned $1 million on sales of $36 million.
Stratasys has about 1,500 RP units installed around the world at companies such as Chrysler, Motorola, Kodak, Maytag and Polaroid, giving it about 23 percent of the installed base, compared with a 29 percent mark for 3D Systems, according to Wohlers.
Toro, the Bloomington-based manufacturer of lawn mowers and snow blowers, is also among Stratasys' customers, using its machines to build prototypes of sprinklers, valves, irrigation controllers and other devices.
"This saves us quite a bit of time and money,'' says mold maker Oscar Gutierrez. "We can look at the fit and see if it's feasible to mold a part. In the old days, we had to spend a lot of time carving parts out of blocks of plastic or whatever. Now, we create a computer file and the Stratasys machine builds it.''
One day, he expects auto parts stores won't keep many items in stock. Essentially, parts would be kept in a digital inventory and created as needed. A warehouse-full of parts could be stored on a computer's hard drive.
"That's where this technology is going,'' says Gutierrez.
Martin J. Moylan can be reached at mmoylan@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5479.
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