4

Developnwnl work in tht: itrl~a of RP continued in the 1960s and !'>70s nnd a J,umhcr
uf pt. tents h:we been filed on different methods and systems [Reumun, 1'.l'J71. Thl:sl:
include:

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h1rthcr to this list thcrc arc numerous patents cowri..ng cx1stmg commt:rt:ial RP
pwc~.:sscs. The most prominent patents as listed by Beaman l Beaman 19'!71 arc
shown in Figure 1.3.

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The signiticant increase in the number of curnmcrcially available Rl' systems of the
1990s can be explained by udvances in 3D CAD Modelling, Computcr-Aided
Mam1fnctming and Computer Numerical Control. These technologies were used
initially in !h(; f11~t growing, highly competitive. high technology, automotive and
aerospace iudustries, which generated added momcntum At thJ bcginning and in the
middle of the 191}0s, !he annual growth in sales of RP ~y~tems was approaching 4050%. In the last few years, the same ~apid growth has not cuulim;~,,J but
developments in this area still attrar.t significant interest and in the last two years 20!!
new patents were tiled. ln 1999, sales growth wu~ 22% and _il was es,imatcd that .'l.4
million parts WCI'e built world-wid~:: using RP technologies [Wohlers. 20001. Another
important aspect is that the application of RP hassprc11d to other s;:ctors nf the
economy (Figure 1.4). This strong and consistent growth in sales and the widespr~ad
11~c of the lt:chnology present very optimistic prospects tor the RP industry aiHi its
future.

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A process t<.1r producing plastic patterns by selet:tivc 3D polyrnerisation 1f a

photosensitive polymer at the intersection of two laser beams [Swain~Dll, I '377 j.

A system that directs a UV laser beam lu a polymer layer by means of a 111irwr

system on an x-y plotter fHcrhcrt., 19!!2].

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II. method for 1~Jbricatine objects from powdered materials by healing parJiclcs
locally <~nd tiJsing t.ht:m together employing a laser, electron beam. N pla~ma
beam fCiraud, 19721.

A photnpnlymer RP system for building objects in layers fKodanw, 19~ lj. i\

mask is us.:d to control the cxposme of the UV source when producing il nosssection of the model.

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Chaprer I lnrroduc:tion

Rapid i\fmwj{l{'tflring

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