Rapid Prototyping Technology: The Next Keystone for Small and Medium Ceramic Industry Ab. Aziz Shuaib 1, a , Folasayo Enoch Olalere 1, b , Khairul Azhar bin Mat Daud 1, c 1 Faculty of Creative Technology & Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Locked Bag 01, 16300 Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia a aziz@umk.edu.my, b folasayoidd@yahoo.com, c azhar.md@umk.edu.my Keywords: Ceramics, Ceramic Industry, Pottery, Rapid prototyping, 3D Printer Abstract. Many manufacturers believe building of physical prototypes is a bottleneck that slows down production process and increase production cost. However, since the quest for reality ends up with making real objects, physical prototypes cannot be out-rightly eliminated in product development process. With the advent of rapid prototyping technology (3D printer), manufacturing is now possible at any scale, from units of one to millions, large or small batches. Thus, rapid prototyping is seen as a possible technology for enhancing product development process; especially in small and medium industries that relies on manual production techniques. Hence, this paper investigates the viability of rapid prototyping technology in small and medium industries. With particular reference to ceramic industry, the paper demonstrates how the contemporary technology (Rapid prototyping) can be harmoniously merged with conventional techniques, so as to enhance product quality and reduce development time and cost. Introduction Rapid prototyping technology is the automatic construction/fabrication of physical objects directly from computer aided design (CAD) data sources. It is often the best manufacturing process available for small production runs and complicated objects. Most prototypes require from three to seventy-two hours to build, depending on the size and complexity of the object [1]. This may seem slow, but it is much faster than the weeks or months required to make a prototype by traditional means such as carving and machining. These dramatic timesaving allow manufacturers to bring products to market faster and more cheaply. According to [2], in 1994, Pratt & Whitney were able to achieved cost reduction and time savings of 70 to 90 percent by incorporating rapid prototyping into their investment casting process. In ceramics, the application of rapid prototyping (RP) was motivated by the advances in engineering and traditional ceramics where methods of creating complex shapes are limited [3]. There are now numbers of Solid Free Form (SFF) technologies that uses additive principles; these include: Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Layered Object Manufacturing (LOM), 3D Printing (3DP). Each of these technologies has it own unique strengths (Table 1). Rapid prototyping technologies are being increasingly used also in non-prototyping applications; thus, the techniques are often collectively referred to as solid free-form fabrication; computer automated manufacturing, or layered manufacturing [1]. These systems add and bond materials in layers to form objects. With this additive technologies, object can be form with any geometric complexity or intricacy without the need for elaborate machine setup or final assembly [4]. Also, rapid prototyping systems reduce the construction of complex objects to a manageable straight forward and relatively fast process. This has result in their used by engineers as a way to reduce time to market in manufacturing, to better understand and communicate product designs, and to make rapid tooling to manufacture those products. Surgeons, architects, artist and individuals from many other disciplines also routinely use the technology Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 789-790 (2015) pp 1205-1209 Submitted: 2015-05-15 © (2015) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Accepted: 2015-05-19 doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.789-790.1205 All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans Tech Publications, www.ttp.net. (ID: 103.26.75.235-08/07/15,05:05:10)