Study of Trapped Material in Rapid Prototyping Parts

Since the launch of the first commercial system in 1988, rapid prototyping (RP) technology is fast being accepted in the fields of product design and development, in the tool and die making industry and recently, for biomedical applications. Although, in theory, RP is able to produce an object of any complexity, problems such as having material trapped inside parts with hollow features still frequently occur during normal operation. This research project seeks to achieve a better understanding of the formation of trapped material inside RP parts, with the eventual aim of developing an algorithm to avoid this problem. In this paper, the causes and effects of trapped material will be discussed for stereolithography apparatus (SLA), solid ground curing (SGC), selective laser sintering (SLS), and laminated object manufacturing (LOM). Finally, current remedies will be presented.