RAPID PROTOTYPE BURNOUT PATTERNS - THIS PAGE DISCUSSES PATTERNS IN THE CONTEXT OF INVESTMENT CASTING ONLY. THERE ARE OTHER USES FOR THESE PATTERN TYPES SUCH AS CONCEPT MODELS. ALL OF THESE PROCESSES START WITH A 3D CAD FILE

SANDERS - BUILDS BY INKJET PRINTING A THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL IN LAYERS AS THIN AS 0.0005 IN. (0.013mm) ONTO A PLATFORM SURFACE. IDEAL FOR VERY SMALL, INTRICATE, OR THIN-WALLED PARTS. EXCELLENT ACCURACY. SLOW BUILD TIME. FOR AN IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS, SEE THE SANDERS .PDF FILE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A .PDF READER, CLICK HERE.

QUICKCAST™ STEREOLITHOGRAPHY (SLA) - A LIQUID EPOXY PHOTOPOLYMER IS SELECTIVELY CURED BY AN ULTRAVIOLET LASER. ONLY THE EXTERNAL SURFACES AND AN INTERNAL LATTICE (HONEYCOMB) STRUCTURE ARE CURED. REMAINING UNCURED RESIN IS MECHANICALLY REMOVED THROUGH A HOLE IN SURFACE OF THE PART. EXCELLENT ACCURACY AND SURFACE FINISH AFTER SANDING. BURNOUT USING SOMOS ProtoCast(TM) AF 19120 LEAVES MINIMAL RESIDUE (ASH).

CASTFORM™ PS - ROLLER MECHANISM SPREADS LAYER OF POLYSTYRENE BASED POWDER ONTO PLATFORM SURFACE. CO2 LASER SELECTIVELY SINTERS (HEATS AND FUSES) THE POWDER, LAYER UPON LAYER. FINISHED PART IS INFILTRATED WITH WAX. GOOD ACCURACY. FAIR SURFACE FINISH.

THERMOJET™- BUILDS BY INKJET PRINTING A THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL ONTO A PLATFORM SURFACE. FAST BUILD. GOOD WORKABILITY FOR INVESTMENT CASTING. REMOVAL OF SUPPORTS CAN CAUSE ROUGH DOWNFACING SURFACES. NOT AS ACCURATE AS SOME OTHER PROCESSES.

ZCORP™ - PRINTER SPREADS LAYER OF STARCH BASED POWDER ONTO A PLATFORM SURFACE. BINDER SOLUTION IS THEN PRINTED ONTO THE LOOSE POWDER. TABLE IS LOWERED FOR NEXT LAYER. FINISHED PART IS INFILTRATED WITH WAX. FASTEST OF ALL PROCESSES. NOT AS ACCURATE AS SOME OTHER PROCESSES. ROUGH SURFACE FINISH.