Rapid tooling (RT) denotes

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

on a slim timeline. Some of the main advantages to rapid tooling trades is that it decreases the time and cost of the product. With rapid tools being fast and easily reproducible, it requires less stock for finished tools. These tools will be produced on demand and are available almost immediately. Special tools or tools where no supplier is existing on the market any more can be reproduced without bigger design and production efforts. However, the disadvantages are that it is not as accurate and also shortens the lifespan of the product. Rapid tooling is mainly used for specific needs including

prototyping A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

and troubleshooting existing problems. Rapid prototyping is not often used for large scale and long term operations for a part. Nevertheless, rapid tooling is starting to be used to create molds for commercial operations because the time lag is so short between start to finish and since a

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

file is the only thing needed for the design stage. Since alternate methods require precious time and resources, rapid tooling provides a way to quickly provide molds for the required products. This allows companies to quickly make commercial products with the advances of

rapid prototyping Rapid prototyping is a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. Construction of the part or assembly is usually done using 3D printin ...

. In addition, rapid tooling provides the customization necessary for personal applications. Instead of tedious trial and error measurements, rapid prototyping processes allow scientists and doctors the ability to scan and digitize the item or patient. Then by putting it through a CAD program, a personal custom mold can be created to fix the problem. An example of this procedure is for dental patients. Originally to fabricate an oral application, an

alginate Alginic acid, also called algin, is a naturally occurring, edible polysaccharide found in brown algae. It is hydrophilic and forms a viscous gum when hydrated. With metals such as sodium and calcium, its salts are known as alginates. Its colour ...

impression or a wax registration is used to fit the teeth with the mold. With new advances, doctors can take a scan of the

dental arch The dental arches are the two arches (crescent arrangements) of teeth, one on each jaw, that together constitute the dentition. In humans and many other species; the superior (maxillary or upper) dental arch is a little larger than the inferior ...

es to correctly and quickly make a mold out of

silicone A silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer made up of siloxane (−R2Si−O−SiR2−, where R = organic group). They are typically colorless oils or rubber-like substances. Silicones are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking ...

for the patient. This allows for better accuracy and more acute customization of the mold in the future.

References

{{Reflist Manufacturing Prototypes Computer-aided design 3D printing