Machine concept to produce micro prototypes

Summary form only given. Rapid prototyping (RP) technologies are used to produce design models, functional models or even a small set of technical prototypes in a very short time. Such prototypes help to reduce a product\´s "time-to-market" period. Some important industries, such as the automotive or the consumables industry, have already exploited this new technology, whereas the growing micro technology has not profited yet. This is due to current machines\´ low process accuracy of 0.1 mm, which limits the application to parts with normal sizes. On the other hand, taking into account the fact that the micro technology produces more complex parts, there is a large potential for the production of micro prototypes This paper presents, therefore, a concept for a RP machine, especially designed for the production of micro prototypes. The concept has been realised within the scope of a European project. The principle work concept of the machine is similar to conventional RP techniques, but high-precision components will extend its accuracy and therefore its application to the production of micro prototypes.