Material Selection Overview

Materials for Product Development, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing

Choosing the best prototype material for your particular product or invention depends on a number of
factors including budget, presentation, time frame, and quantity. The final function of a prototype part
or product usually determines the material from which a prototype is made. Building a working
prototype may be as simple a cobbling together some simple materials or items found around the
house. The materials used in rapid prototyping (RP) can provide a more detailed prototype needed for
presentation to investors, engineers, marketers, designers, or manufacturers. Other prototype material
includes patterns made with silicon molds and various types of plastics or combinations of resin and
other materials.
Initially, prototype material may be wood, clay, resin or a combination of these and other materials.
Consider cost before deciding what prototype materials or processes will be used. Some of the most
successful products have initially been made from very crude prototype materials or items found
around the house, like cardboard, wire, and duct tape. As long it shows how the product works, any
type of material can be used for a prototype. One type of inexpensive prototype material is a special
plastic that becomes soft and moldable when heated in a microwave or with a hairdryer.
Rapid prototyping uses a technique called stereolithography (SLA) to create tangible prototypes from a
computer-aided design (CAD) drawing. The prototype material used in this process is a liquid resin
which is roughly formed using ultraviolet laser radiation and cured in an ultraviolet oven. The finished
SLA prototype is then finished by hand to meet the designer's specifications. These SLA prototypes
look and function like the real thing and provide a hands-on, working model of the finished product,
ready for presentation. The biggest advantage to using these resin materials is the quick turnaround
and the low cost of even multiple design iterations or revisions.
Silicon molds and liquid plastic are probably one of the most cost-effective of all prototype materials
when only a small number of prototypes are needed. Referred to as room temperature vulcanization
(RTV), this process uses an RP model to create a master mold from silicone rubber. Liquid silicone is
poured around the RP model or master pattern to create a negative mold. This process is best suited
for prototypes that are needed in a short amount of time. The finished prototype material is usually a
combination of two-part polyurethane, wax, and silicone rubber.
To meet the rigorous demands of product designers and development engineers, prototyping materials
are the critical link to product design validation and product development process efficiency. Successful
OEMs and product developers understand the value of time. Time-to-market can be dramatically
reduced if prototype-to-production bridge materials mirror production material specifications. Most
often it is not practical to produce hard tools to make a few parts. Hard tools are costly and time
consuming. Design iterations and engineering revisions could quickly absorb budget, time and patience
to complete a project. Paramount has a proven commitment to continually research and experiment
with new materials for all its rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing processes.
Materials
Urethane Casting Materials and Castable Resins
SLA Materials
SLS Materials
Injection Molding Materials
Machining/Fabrication Material
Every individual material and process used in prototyping has distinct advantages and relative
disadvantages. Understanding and effectively communicating these relative characteristics of alternative
materials and processes is a distinguishing characteristic of the Paramount team. For example, our
experience has demonstrated that overall, SLA tends to be the preferred process when accuracy is the
overriding priority, and SLS tends to be a preferred choice when a robust-performance solution is needed.
Correspondingly, we offer a suite of materials for each type of process.

Fabricated and Machined Prototype Materials - metal, plastic sheet, rod, tube and block
SLA RP Materials - Available resins include clear and ceramic reinforced
SLS RP Materials - 6 prototype and rapid manufacturing laser sintering powders enhanced with
Paramounts proprietary suite of eRMS (engineered Rapid Manufacturing Solutions)
Cast Urethane Resins - Over forty in-stock resins and hundreds more to choose from offering a broad
range flexible and rigid urethane resin systems. Special application grades include FDA grade, UL,
UV94VO, and fire-rated.
Injection Molding Materials - Hundreds of engineering and commodity grades of resins to choose
including custom blends and custom colors to meet your prototyping and production demands