A review of stateoftheart largesized foam cutting rapid prototyping and manufacturing technologies

Purpose Current additive rapid prototyping RP technologies fail to efficiently produce objects greater than 0.5m3 due to restrictions in build size, build time and cost. A need exists to develop RP and manufacturing technologies capable of producing large objects in a rapid manner directly from computeraided design data. Foam cutting RP is a relatively new technology capable of producing large complex objects using inexpensive materials. The purpose of this paper is to describe nine such technologies that have been developed or are currently being developed at institutions around the world. The relative merits of each system are discussed. Recommendations are given with the aim of enhancing the performance of existing and future foam cutting RP systems. Designmethodologyapproach The review is based on an extensive literature review covering academic publications, company documents and web site information. Findings The paper provides insights into the different machine configurations and cutting strategies. The most successful machines and cutting strategies are identified. Research limitationsimplications Most of the foam cutting RP systems described have not been developed to the commercial level, thus a benchmark study directly comparing the nine systems was not possible. Originalityvalue This paper provides the first overview of foam cutting RP technology, a field which is over a decade old. The information contained in this paper will help improve future developments in foam cutting RP systems.