CREATING A DATABASE OF RAPID PROTOTYPING SYSTEM CAPABILITIES

Rapid prototyping (RP) potentially offers great benefits when used dur ing the design and manufacturing process. It can help shorten time-to- market, improve quality and reduce costs. However, RP must be used in an effective manner if these benefits are to be fully realised. It sho uld only be used when appropriate, the most suitable system must be se lected, data transfer must be optimised and the correct choice of seco ndary process is essential. For any designer considering the use of RP this is a daunting task, given the range of RP systems and secondary processes that are now available. This paper presents work being under taken to develop a capability database to assist the designer in makin g the most effective use of RP. The work is part of a research project whose overall aim is to develop a decision support system (DSS) for R P. The main objective for the database element of the DSS is to repres ent the capabilities of various RP systems in a logical structure whic h can be accessed easily. A relational database has been developed whi ch can store a wide range of information about individual RP systems. The database structure facilitates the use of queries which will help the designer to decide on how to use RP. The database has been designe d to allow easy expansion, both in terms of new RP systems and new typ es of information. The implementation of this database is discussed in detail together with some of the queries that can be used. An example of its use is presented to show how it can be of benefit to the desig n process. Finally, the paper draws conclusions about the usefulness o f the database as a stand-alone tool and describes how it will be inte grated into the complete DSS.