Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Tooling (RT) are well known processes for rapidly develop new products and consequently reduce the time to market. In Portugal, many companies are still not exploring the full advantages of using these technologies for new products development and produce reduced runs. This work presents some results obtained with composite tools manufactured for thermoplastics injection. These tools are obtained by casting a aluminium filled resin or by arc spray metal tooling over Rapid Prototyping models. Different properties, such as: moulds roughness, hardness and the wear were determined and compared, and the suitability of these processes are evaluated to rapidly produce prototype moulds to inject thermoplastic models and pre series.
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