Today rapid prototyping is essential for bringing products to the market quickly. This ensures efficient design, and gives the engineer an opportunity to see the product as a three dimensional object prior to its production. Two of the most popular techniques used to make the prototypes are stereolithography and computer numerical control (CNC) machining.Stereolithography uses a laser to cure liquid polymer in a specific pattern. Then additional layers are added to make up the final part. CNC machining can be used to make a single cavity sample mold. From this sample mold, a limited number of sample parts can be made and the engineer can collect data to build a production mold. This ANTEC paper will evaluate both methods and compare the costs associated with each. A potential part will be put thorough both systems and the results will be discussed.
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