Implementing rapid tooling design in an undergraduate curriculum

There has been much research done in methods for shortening the time required to design and build tooling for plastic molding processes. While the more exotic procedures, such as stereo lithography have gotten much attention, there continues to be advancement in the areas of modeling, simulation, and numerical control that allow a very short cycle between product design and manufacturing. Use of this technology has allowed commercial mold makers to compress the delivery of production molds from several weeks to less than 48 hours. This paper describes the implementation of a rapid tooling program at Purdue University. Students with an introductory course in solid modeling learn the specialized application software and apply it to projects in a normal semester time frame. This allows students to learn the process, learn the practical aspects of design for manufacturing, and learn the benefits of modeling and simulation in a realistic setting.