Abstract
The layered manufacturing was developed about 10 years ago as a new manufacturing process of mechanical parts directly from 3D CAD data, and is now called rapid prototyping. Recent applications of this process are reviewed briefly in this paper. Most of the rapid prototypings are used in industry for the verification of CAD design and the functional checking of machine parts at the developmental stage of new products. Various new types of rapid prototyping machines, some of which are suitable for metal and ceramics, have been developed, thus broadening the application field. There are strong needs for the application to die and mold manufacturing, for production of medical parts and micro machine parts in the future.
