Also, parts made with present RP techniques do not have the material properties required for rigorous function testing. Rapid tooling fills this gap. Using rapid prototyping technologies, molds are created in a number of different ways in a much shorter time period than traditional molds. These are then used to produce parts in high quantity. Some rapid tooling methods create molds that yield only 1 - 2 parts per day, referred to as soft tools .
Epoxy tools produce higher quantity and share a very similar method as the soft tool.
Above and beyond these technologies, there is a great deal of research trying to further speed the steps from design to production, discussed below. Direct Tooling - New Technology Beyond the quantity restrictions of soft and bridge tools is hard tooling. Hard tools are built of tough materials, made to withstand the rigors of long term injection molding. Traditional hard tool design is both time consuming and costly. A large block of steel is typically CNC machined to create cores and cavity inserts.