Rapid tooling: the state of the art

Producing tooling directly from CAD models is regarded as an important method of reducing the cost and time to market for new products. This paper describes the role of rapid prototyping technology in increasing the speed of tooling development. A comprehensive review of examples of rapid tooling indicates a major shift in tooling practice. This new trend in manufacturing based on rapid prototyping and rapid tooling has already had a dramatic impact on the engineering environment.