There is an increasing pressure for industry to minimize the time and cost of developing parts from design through production. This is certainly true when a designer would like to get the low-piece-part cost of plastic but does not have the time, money, or volume to justify the process. Since the bulk of this time and cost is generated in the design and fabrication of tooling, that is where industry is looking for higher efficiency. Whereas with traditional fabrication techniques, it is as easy to cut a tool as it is to cut a part, a part fabricated using rapid prototyping technology can be used as a pattern for making epoxy tooling for injection molding. The objective of this project is to improve mechanical engineering technology education by complementing plastic injection molding technology with three-dimensional solid modeling and rapid prototyping techniques. This project provides state-of-the-art rapid prototyping and plastic injection molding systems, complementing them with our current three-dimensional solid modeling capabilities, developing laboratory exercises that fully take advantage of the equipment capabilities, and incorporating rapid prototyping and injection molding in design projects. The new equipment is of sufficient quality so that it can also be used to support local industry needs through student projects that are incorporated directly into the laboratory component of manufacturing methods and mechanical design courses. The potential impact of this project is very widespread and includes all companies involved in mechanical design and manufacturing considering plastic injection molding for their part requirements or rapid prototyping for design verification. *
