Internet page

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2000), "Internet page", Assembly Automation, Vol. 20 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2000.03320dag.001

Internet page

http://www.biba.uni-bremen.de/english/index.htmlBremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science

Keywords: Technology, Industry

The Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science at the University of Bremen (BIBA) is a research institute for engineering science. It focuses on production structure, logistics, and telematics; work science, industrial engineering, organisation and personnel development; metrology, automation and quality science, and product development, process planning and computer support. The institute also provides a range of up-to-date information technologies and high grade production machinery.

This is another well presented, informative site. It is available in both English and German.

http://www.mec.cf.ac.uk/The Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC)

Keywords: Manufacturing, Rapid prototyping

Formerly known as the Cardiff Rapid Prototyping Centre, the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) forms part of the Systems Engineering Division of the School of Engineering, Cardiff University. Part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the MEC is a centre of expertise in manufacturing engineering and offers specialist services in time compression technologies. It has a unique range of rapid prototyping and manufacturing services available including: SLS, SLA, FDM, ThermoJet, rapid tooling, rapid metal casting, virtual prototyping, co-ordinate measuring, reverse engineering, 5-axis HSM, wire & volume EDM, and laser milling.

The centre is accredited by the Welsh Development Agency as the Centre of Expertise for Manufacturing Engineering for Wales.

This new site is easy to navigate and well presented. It also contains a lot more information than its predecessor.

http://www.triad-plastics.com/index.htmlTriad Plastic Technologies

Keyword: Plastics

Triad Plastic Technologies was established in 1988 and aims to assist its customers in developing projects from ideas to final products. It also provides rapid prototyping, plastic injection molding, secondary operations, assembly, packaging, repair and rebuilding services.

Firstly, do not attempt to access this site via http://www.triad-plastics.com as the main page only contains links that will not work. Once you have surpassed this problem, the Triad Plastic Technologies Website is well laid out and informative.

http://www.mcb.co.uk/rpj.htmRapid Prototyping Journal

Keyword: Rapid prototyping

This journal published by MCB University Press covers a broad range of topics including: CAD and materials aspects, data preparation and exchange, finishing of rapid prototyping parts, rapid prototyping for tooling, reverse engineering, Integration with design process, management implications, benchmarking, new rapid prototyping processes and the enhancement of existing processes.

Information about the journal can easily be found and current subscribers can access the journal online.

http://www.acceltechinc.com/rpnews.htmlAccelerated Technologies, Inc.

Keywords: Rapid prototyping, CAD

Accelerated Technologies, Inc. (ATI) was founded in 1993 and provides rapid prototyping, computer-aided design services and soft tooling capabilities. It currently supports over 800 companies world wide that produce consumer products, aerospace, automotive, computers and electronics, investment casting foundries, and medical devices.

http://www.fastecrp.com/Fastec Rapid Prototyping Services

Fastec specialises in: design and analysis, stereolithography, rapid tooling, castings, high-speed machining and injection molding. This is another well presented site but although navigation is simple enough, it is not intuitive and may require guesswork to find the information you are looking for.

http://www.durdene.com/Durden Enterprises, Inc.

Keywords: Rapid prototyping

Durden Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1972 and specialises in plastic, injection molding, rapid tooling and rapid prototyping. Using the computer-driven Stereolothography Apparatus (SLA-250), Durden is able to render accurate, full-sized, three-dimensional models of a customer's design as quickly as overnight. The SLA machine produces a solid, epoxy model of a computer image which may be assembled with other components to produce a working prototype. In some cases, the SLA process can actually be used to create tooling masters that enable molds to be constructed in half the time normally required.

HOT SITES

http://www.cc.utah.edu/~asn8200/rapid.htmlUniversity of Utah Computer Centre

Keywords: Rapid prototyping, Rapid tooling

The "Rapid Prototyping Home Page" contains links to rapid prototyping sites world-wide. It also has a link to the "Rapid Tooling Home Page". To make finding relevant sites easier links are divided into different categories. These are: commercial rapid prototyping systems, concept modellers, resellers of concept modellers and RP systems, commercial service providers, consultants, academia and research, literature and conferences, biomedical uses of rapid prototyping, art via rapid prototyping, software for the rapid prototyping market, professional associations and other valuable resources. The site also contains a guest book.

http://www.sanders-prototype.com/main.htmlSanders Prototype, Inc.

Keywords: Rapid prototyping, Computer hardware, Computer software

Established in 1994, Sanders Prototype, Inc. (SPI) designs, develops, manufactures and sells rapid prototyping hardware and software and is a leading manufacturer of high-precision 3D modelling and rapid prototyping systems. Its rapid prototyping systems have been used in the design and development of products including medical instruments and prosthetics, aerospace components, automotive parts, electronics, sporting goods and fine jewellery.

The SPI ModelMaker^TM can be used in conjunction with CAD systems to automatically create physical models, industrial patterns and prototypes directly from computer-generated designs. It combines a proprietary thermoplastic ink jetting technology, and high-precision milling with the ModelWorks^TM graphical front-end software to build high precision prototype models or patterns. It also uses non-toxic materials to ensure safe use in the designer's workstation environment. SPI's technology promotes concurrent engineering and reduces time-to-market and design-to-cost considerations for critical product releases.

This is a well presented site which contains plenty of information.

Jonathan Rigelsford