Rapid Prototyping in Technology Education: Rapid Prototyping, While Costly, Can Afford Students a Unique Opportunity to Bring Their Ideas to Reality (2002)

Product design has become an important part of technology education, and for good reason. Technology students not only learn by designing and modeling products, they are empowered and often find enthusiasm and internal motivation through these activities. Model-making has long been an element of the design (Hatsopoulos, 2000). Historically, students had to draw product designs on paper and make their first models, or prototypes, by cutting and gluing wood, cardboard, plastics, and other materials. As we move through the computer age, students have the opportunity to use the computer to create and manipulate designs. However, in order to make a three-dimensional physical prototype, they often must resort to centuries-old model-making techniques. This article looks at how technology education majors at one university are using a high-tech model builder, called a fused deposition modeling machine, to grow their models directly from computer-based designs without any machining. Although the hardware is typically costly, there are low-cost alternatives that could allow primary and secondary school technology students to experience rapid prototyping technology. Prototyping in Technology Education Often students in technology education brainstorm to generate possible solutions to technological problems. They develop sketches and drawings first, then use these sketches in building a prototype. It is not uncommon for a teacher to discourage students from building prototypes without first having approved drawings, plans of procedure, and parts lists. This is an attempt to have students follow a professional design process from design ideas to finished prototype. In some classes, students then mass-produce products based on one or more of these prototypes. Some prototypes may be ingenious solutions to a problem, but building them could go beyond the capabilities of students and their equipment. Time constraints can also cause a student to pursue an inferior solution. It is important for technology teachers to help students build prototypes to see their ideas become reality; this can help to empower students. However, there is a need to find better ways for technology students to turn their ideas and design solutions into professional, 3-D prototypes. Rapid Prototyping One solution to this problem is the technology called rapid prototyping (RP). RP is an exciting technology that allows product designers and developers to quickly transform a computer-based model into a three-dimensional physical object. Unlike traditional milling, which is a subtractive process, rapid prototyping is typically an additive process. The rapid prototyping process begins with a three-dimensional, virtual object in a computer. The next step is to slice this virtual object into layers using a specialized computer program. The computer sends the information about each layer, starting with the bottom layer, to a rapid prototyping machine. The machine then builds a plastic, wax, or, even paper prototype from the bottom layer up. Higher layers are then added on top of lower layers until the prototype is complete. The use of rapid prototyping is growing slowly in manufacturing industries, possibly due to the initial cost. According to Daly (2000), 1195 rapid prototyping machines were purchased in 1999 by large manufacturing companies, including Motorola and Mattel, for prices ranging from $70,000 to nearly $1,000,000. There are a number of RP technologies available, including stereolithography, laminated object manufacture, solid object printing, and fused deposition modeling (see Figure 1 for RP models made with different technologies). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Stereolithography The dominant rapid prototyping system is the stereolithography apparatus, or SLA (Daly, 2000). SLA works by using a laser to solidify consecutive layers of a photocurable, liquid polymer. …