Title :
The origins and direction of the fabricator revolution
Author_Institution :
Ennex Fabrication Technol., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
Fabricators are ultra-modern machines that make things automatically. They use raw material and computer data to generate three-dimensional, solid objects that can be held in the hand, submitted to testing, or assembled into working mechanisms. Fabricators are being used by manufacturers around the world for low-volume production, prototyping, and mold mastering. They are also used by scientists and mathematicians for solid imaging, and by a few artists for innovative computerized sculpting. Manufacturers report enormous productivity gains from using fabricators. This paper discusses the types of technologies used in fabricators, both currently available and anticipated in the future
Keywords :
assembling; manufacture; production; production engineering computing; solid modelling; computer data; fabricator revolution; flat-layer additive fabricators; innovative computerized sculpting; low-volume production; mathematicians; mold mastering; productivity gains; prototyping; raw material; solid imaging; subtractive fabricators; testing; three-dimensional solid objects; working mechanisms; Additives; Computer aided manufacturing; Fabrication; Machinery production industries; Manufacturing industries; Marketing and sales; Prototypes; Raw materials; Solids; Textile industry;
Conference_Titel :
Industrial Electronics, 1997. ISIE '97., Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Guimaraes
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3936-3
DOI :
10.1109/ISIE.1997.651758
