A new rapid manufacturing process for multi-face high-speed machining

Abstract

High-speed machining is known as one of the most effective rapid prototyping and/or manufacturing (RPM) processes that provides the various machining materials with excellent quality and dimensional accuracy. However, the high-speed machining process is not suitable for the rapid realization of 3D-shaped product because a considerable amount of time is required for the work piece fixturing process. High-speed rapid prototyping (HisRP), a new type of RPM technology, will be presented in this paper. The proposed HisRP has been developed using a combination of a multi-face high-speed machining process and a flexible fixturing technique. Low melting point metal alloys are used to hold the work piece during multi-face machining. An automatic set-up device, mounted and fixed to the work table, has also been developed to guarantee positional accuracy during a series of multi-face machining operations. This set-up device is expected to be beneficial for successive multi-face high-speed machining of working materials, for example for two-face or four-face machining. The proposed HisRP process has been shown to be a useful method for manufacturing 3D metal products with reduced lead time.