Solid Freeform Fabrication: A New Direction in Manufacturing : with Research and Applications in Thermal Laser Processing - Tapa dura

Solid Freeform Fabrication is a set of manufacturing processes that are capable of producing complex freeform solid objects directly from a computer model of an object without part-specific tooling or knowledge. In essence, these methods are miniature manufacturing plants which come complete with material handling, information processing and materials processing. As such, these methods require technical knowledge from many disciplines; therefore, researchers, engineers, and students in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering and Materials and Computer Science will all find some interest in this subject. Particular subareas of concern include manufacturing methods, polymer chemistry, computational geometry, control, heat transfer, metallurgy, ceramics, optics, and fluid mechanics. History of technology specialists may also find Chapter 1 of interest. Although this book covers the spectrum of different processes, the emphasis is clearly on the area in which the authors have the most experience, thermal laser processing. In particular, the authors have all been developers and inventors of techniques for the Selective Laser Sintering process and laser gas phase techniques (Selective Area Laser Deposition). This is a research book on the subject of Solid Freeform Fabrication.

Solid Freeform Fabrication: A New Direction in Manufacturing is a research monograph covering the emerging manufacturing technology of solid freeform fabrication. This new enabling technology is a set of manufacturing processes capable of dramatically reducing time to market by producing complex freeform solid objects directly from a computer model without part-specific tooling or knowledge.
Solid Freeform Fabrication: A New Direction in Manufacturing presents a detailed description of present solid freeform fabrication techniques whilst providing a historical perspective of its development. Researchers in mechanical, chemical, electrical, and manufacturing engineering and materials and computer science will all find material of interest in this book. Particular subareas of concern include manufacturing methods, polymer chemistry, computational geometry, control, heat transfer, metallurgy, ceramics, optics, and fluid mechanics.
Whilst this book covers the spectrum of solid freeform fabrication processes, particular emphasis is given to the area of thermal laser processing in which the authors have contributed pioneering research.