Rapid Prototyping

This case study demonstrates the versatility of dieless forming, showing that ISF could improve prototyping and manufacturing across a wide range of industries.

Background: efficiently iterating to optimise propeller blades

Rapid prototyping is a large and growing market. It is also becoming an essential stage in engineering production, and ISF could be used to develop thin sheet metal prototypes to aid product design and development.

Once a prototype is tested, iterative improvements can be introduced. Because ISF does not require a die, multiple prototype variants of a geometry can be quickly produced and used to experimentally determine the optimal design for a specific application. As well as producing intermediary iterations for evaluation, ISF can be used to reinforce product pitches by enabling the creation of a functional and presentable physical design.

For example, ISF could be used to produce propeller blades with different contours which can be welded to shafts (produced using other methods) for testing.

ISF Steps

  1. The geometry of the part is designed in CAD software.

  2. The geometry is adapted to be manufactured using ISF.

  3. A toolpath is generated to be used by a CNC machine.

  4. The part is formed.

  5. The part is used for iterative testing, or:

  6. The part is presented as a prototype model.

Benefits

  • ISF parts have similar mechanical properties to parts produced by traditional, die-based manufacturing processes, especially compared to current prototyping-focused alternatives like additive manufacturing.

  • Unique geometries can be produced rapidly with short lead times.

  • ISF could be cheaper than additive manufacturing techniques.

Viability

  • The parts which can be produced are limited to sheet metal geometries.

  • Many components that require rapid prototyping may have complex 3D geometries that ISF would be unable to produce.