Laser rapid prototyping is a new manufacturing technology that integrates advanced technologies such as CAD, CAM, CNC, laser pointer, precision servo drives and new materials. Compared with the traditional manufacturing method, it has the reproducibility and high interchangeability of the prototype; the manufacturing process has nothing to do with the geometry of the manufacturing prototype; the advantages of short processing cycle and low cost, the general manufacturing cost is reduced by 50%, and the processing cycle is shortened by 70% Above; high degree of technical integration to realize the integration of design and manufacturing.
The LPRs that have recently developed mainly include: Stereo Optical Modeling (SLA) Technology; Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Technology; Fuse Stacking (FDM) Technology; Laser Cladding Forming (LCF) Technology; Laser Proximity (LENS) Technology; Laser laminate manufacturing (LOM) technology; laser induced thermal stress forming (LF) technology and three-dimensional printing technology.
The United States, Japan, Germany, Belgium, etc. have invested a lot of manpower and material resources in researching this technology, and new products have come out constantly. my country’s Xi’an Jiaotong University has also successfully developed a stereo light modeling machine. At present, there are more than 10 factories all over the world producing this product.
The application of SLA technology in automobile body manufacturing can produce precision casting molds of the required proportions, thereby casting a certain proportion of the body metal model, which can be used for wind tunnel and collision tests to complete the final evaluation of the body. To determine whether its design is reasonable. The Chrysler Corporation of the United States has made a car body model with SLA technology and placed it in a high-speed wind tunnel for aerodynamic test analysis, which achieved satisfactory results and greatly saved test costs.
It is used for the test of the intake pipe of automobile engine. The green laser pointer shape of the inner cavity of the intake pipe is composed of a very complicated free-form surface, which has a very important influence on the improvement of the intake efficiency and the combustion process. In the design process, different air intake pipe schemes need to be tested for air passages. The traditional method is to manually process the air pipe wooden mold or plaster mold described by dozens of cross-sections, and then use sand molds to cast the air intake pipe.
In processing, the wood molder’s understanding of drawings and his own technical level often lead to deviations between the parts and the design intent, and sometimes the impact of this error is significant. Although the use of CNC machining can better reflect the design intent, its preparation time is long, especially when the geometric shape is complicated. The British Rover Company uses rapid prototyping technology to produce the outer mold and inner cavity mold of the intake pipe, and has achieved satisfactory results.