Various developments occurring concurrently have suddenly focused attention on rapid development of tooling for the casting, molding and allied industries. A tremendous pressure on constricting the lead-time to develop new products has led to the identification of tooling production as a major bottleneck in many sectors, especially those in which product shapes are complex (such as automobile and consumer products).

A tool model is used for stimulating the manufacturing process (flow, solidification and cooling during casting or molding) to enable detection of quality problems early. It is then used for generating cutter paths for numerically controlled machining or manufacture using RP-based processes. Recent developments in the rapid prototyping technology and the accessibility of newer materials have acted as catalysts in opening up new routes to tooling production.

Protosys Technologies Pvt Ltd. provides Vacuum Casting as a major Prototype Tooling Option in Polyurethane’s, which resemble properties equivalent to PP, ABS, elastomers, and transparent. Silicone rubber molds have excellent chemical resistance, low shrinkage and high dimensional stability, making them suitable for producing parts in polyurethane by injection molding. Initially, a silicone rubber mold is made using the master sample obtained from Rapid Prototyping or readymade masters supplied by the customer.

Thereafter, Polyurethanes are injected into the rubber mold for creating a model. Polyurethanes are ideal for soft tooling and as compared to epoxy resins, their case of handling, fast curing and reusability (in mass casting) are driving their augmented use in the industry. Rapid prototyping and tooling technology has been enthusiastically accepted by a variety of industry sectors, ranging from consumer and leisure products to medical and aerospace. Success stories abound.