Stratasys Inc.

Although rapid prototyping isn’t uncommon in the auto industry (see: autofieldguide.com/articles/rapid-prototyping-how-its-done-at-gm), the technology is typically used by automakers to make pieces and panels.

Nowadays you have a slew of machines to choose from for making physical reality out of virtual solid models.

3D printing; mainstreaming additive manufacturing and more.

3D printing; optical measuring and data acquisition sensor; free interactive CAD plug-in tool; cast urethane molding; 3D/2D software.

Here’s a look at some recent developments in the additive arena we saw last fall at EuroMold that can allow you to create things much more expeditiously than you otherwise might. . .

Better 3D materials; powerful powders/thriftier aluminum parts; wireless 3D printer; SLS material minds the gap.

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Black ULTEM; More Scanning, Less Moving; Rapid Mfg to Double by '17; Point, Shoot, Scan

Once it was all about small, fragile parts. But now, models made with rapid prototyping equipment are not only sizable, but durable.

When it comes to rapid prototyping (RP), there are a variety of available systems, but one statement holds true across them: “Materials are critical,” says Mervyn Rudgley, senior director for product development at 3D Systems (Valencia, CA). And when it comes to equipment, size matters, and for some, smaller is better.