Benchmarking the rapid design and manufacture process

As part of the research programme at the Rapid Design and Manufacture Centre a number of benchmarking studies have been conducted with the aim of informing students and local industry as to the capabilities of a range of rapid prototyping technologies. These benchmarking studies have focused on both 'Soft data' comprising of aesthetic qualities such as appearance, surface texture, robustness, cost and time to produce or 'Hard data' such as accuracy, flexurial, compressive modulus and surface roughness. Both are compared here with a view to creating a range of tools that allow comprehensive analysis of application requirements versus process capabilities.