Reducing the uncertainty of the prototyping decision

As RP technologies have evolved, it has become clear that an RP system can no longer be used in isolation within any given situation, rather; each particular technology requires to be combined with either a secondary finishing technique, or be "chained" with a Rapid Tooling technology. This leads to uncertainty as to which technologies are compatible with each other. By reviewing existing RP selection systems, and by presenting three industrial case studies, this paper concludes that the success of a RP process chain selection decision is dependent on three factors; firstly any selection system must accurately represent the requirements specification of the prototype, that the knowledge base of a selection system contain two critical elements, and thirdly, commercial influences within a company have a bearing on how RP is utilised. This paper proposes a model on how a prototyping decision should be structured, and what lessons need to be learned in future selection systems.