<s>
Rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
is	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
techniques	O
used	O
to	O
quickly	O
fabricate	O
a	O
scale	O
model	O
of	O
a	O
physical	O
part	O
or	O
assembly	O
using	O
three-dimensional	O
computer	B-Application
aided	I-Application
design	I-Application
(	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
methods	O
for	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
became	O
available	O
in	O
mid	O
1987	O
and	O
were	O
used	O
to	O
produce	O
models	O
and	O
prototype	B-Application
parts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
CNC	O
subtractive	O
methods	O
,	O
the	O
computer-aided-design	O
–	O
computer-aided	O
manufacturing	O
CAD	B-Application
-CAM	O
workflow	O
in	O
the	O
traditional	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
process	O
starts	O
with	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
geometric	O
data	O
,	O
either	O
as	O
a	O
3D	O
solid	O
using	O
a	O
CAD	B-Application
workstation	I-Application
,	O
or	O
2D	O
slices	O
using	O
a	O
scanning	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
this	O
data	O
must	O
represent	O
a	O
valid	O
geometric	O
model	O
;	O
namely	O
,	O
one	O
whose	O
boundary	O
surfaces	O
enclose	O
a	O
finite	O
volume	O
,	O
contain	O
no	O
holes	O
exposing	O
the	O
interior	O
,	O
and	O
do	O
not	O
fold	O
back	O
on	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAD	B-Application
post-processors	O
will	O
approximate	O
the	O
application	O
vendors	O
 '	O
internal	O
CAD	B-Application
geometric	O
forms	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
B-splines	O
)	O
with	O
a	O
simplified	O
mathematical	O
form	O
,	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
is	O
expressed	O
in	O
a	O
specified	O
data	O
format	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
common	O
feature	O
in	O
additive	O
manufacturing	O
:	O
STL	O
file	O
format	O
,	O
a	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
for	O
transferring	O
solid	O
geometric	O
models	O
to	O
SFF	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
obtain	O
the	O
necessary	O
motion	O
control	O
trajectories	O
to	O
drive	O
the	O
actual	O
SFF	O
,	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
,	O
3D	O
printing	O
or	O
additive	O
manufacturing	O
mechanism	O
,	O
the	O
prepared	O
geometric	O
model	O
is	O
typically	O
sliced	O
into	O
layers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
slices	O
are	O
scanned	O
into	O
lines	O
(	O
producing	O
a	O
"	O
2D	O
drawing	O
"	O
used	O
to	O
generate	O
trajectory	O
as	O
in	O
CNC	O
's	O
toolpath	O
)	O
,	O
mimicking	O
in	O
reverse	O
the	O
layer-to-layer	O
physical	O
building	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
is	O
also	O
commonly	O
applied	O
in	O
software	O
engineering	O
to	O
try	O
out	O
new	O
business	O
models	O
and	O
application	O
architectures	O
such	O
as	O
Aerospace	O
,	O
Automotive	O
,	O
Financial	O
Services	O
,	O
Product	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
Healthcare	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
allows	O
designers/developers	O
to	O
provide	O
an	O
accurate	O
idea	O
of	O
how	O
the	O
finished	O
product	O
will	O
turn	O
out	O
before	O
putting	O
too	O
much	O
time	O
and	O
money	O
into	O
the	O
prototype	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
3D	O
printing	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
allows	O
for	O
Industrial	O
3D	O
printing	O
to	O
take	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
when	O
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
Systems	O
moved	O
out	O
of	O
labs	O
to	O
be	O
commercialized	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
recognized	O
that	O
developments	O
were	O
already	O
international	O
and	O
U.S.	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
companies	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
the	O
luxury	O
of	O
letting	O
a	O
lead	O
slip	O
away	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
such	O
report	O
was	O
the	O
1997	O
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
in	O
Europe	O
and	O
Japan	O
Panel	O
Report	O
in	O
which	O
Joseph	O
J	O
.	O
Beaman	O
founder	O
of	O
DTM	O
Corporation	O
[	O
DTM	O
RapidTool	O
pictured ]	O
provides	O
a	O
historical	O
perspective	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
The	O
Origins	O
of	O
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
-	O
RP	O
stems	O
from	O
the	O
ever-growing	O
CAD	B-Application
industry	O
,	O
more	O
specifically	O
,	O
the	O
solid	O
modeling	O
side	O
of	O
CAD	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
RP	O
,	O
CAD	B-Application
solid	O
models	O
could	O
suddenly	O
come	O
to	O
life	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
technologies	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Solid	O
Freeform	O
Fabrication	O
are	O
what	O
we	O
recognize	O
today	O
as	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
,	O
3D	O
printing	O
or	O
additive	O
manufacturing	O
:	O
Swainson	O
(	O
1977	O
)	O
,	O
Schwerzel	O
(	O
1984	O
)	O
worked	O
on	O
polymerization	O
of	O
a	O
photosensitive	O
polymer	O
at	O
the	O
intersection	O
of	O
two	O
computer	O
controlled	O
laser	O
beams	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hideo	O
Kodama	O
of	O
Nagoya	O
Municipal	O
Industrial	O
Research	O
Institute	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
publish	O
an	O
account	O
of	O
a	O
solid	O
model	O
fabricated	O
using	O
a	O
photopolymer	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
system	O
(	O
1981	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
very	O
first	O
3D	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
system	O
relying	O
on	O
Fused	O
Deposition	O
Modeling	O
(	O
FDM	O
)	O
was	O
made	O
in	O
April	O
1992	O
by	O
Stratasys	O
but	O
the	O
patent	O
did	O
not	O
issue	O
until	O
June	O
9	O
,	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sanders	O
Prototype	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
introduced	O
the	O
first	O
desktop	O
inkjet	O
3D	O
Printer	O
(	O
3DP	O
)	O
using	O
an	O
invention	O
from	O
August	O
4	O
,	O
1992	O
(	O
Helinski	O
)	O
,	O
Modelmaker	O
6Pro	O
in	O
late	O
1993	O
and	O
then	O
the	O
larger	O
industrial	O
3D	O
printer	O
,	O
Modelmaker	O
2	O
,	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sanders	O
Prototype	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
Solidscape	O
)	O
started	O
as	O
a	O
Rapid	B-Device
Prototyping	I-Device
3D	O
Printing	O
manufacturer	O
with	O
the	O
Modelmaker	O
6Pro	O
for	O
making	O
sacrificial	O
Thermoplastic	O
patterns	O
of	O
CAD	B-Application
models	I-Application
uses	O
Drop-On-Demand	O
(	O
DOD	O
)	O
inkjet	O
single	O
nozzle	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
dramatic	O
development	O
which	O
RP	O
shares	O
with	O
related	O
CNC	O
areas	O
is	O
the	O
freeware	O
open-sourcing	O
of	O
high	O
level	O
applications	O
which	O
constitute	O
an	O
entire	O
CAD-CAM	O
toolchain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Example	O
:	O
Visual	O
Impact	O
Corporation	O
only	O
produced	O
a	O
prototype	B-Application
printer	O
for	O
wax	O
deposition	O
and	O
then	O
licensed	O
the	O
patent	O
to	O
Sanders	O
Prototype	B-Application
,	O
Inc	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
