Prototyping products

Conventional thermoforming of sheet and film is appHcable to the production of skylights, radomes, signs, curved wiadshields, prototype production of body parts for automobiles, skimohiles, boats, etc. Because BPA polycarbonate is malleable, it can be cold-formed like metal, and may be cold-roUed, stamped, or forged. 

The environmental concerns associated with the use of toluene, a toxic and flammable aromatic hydrocarbon, as a gravure ink solvent must be addressed. Whereas ink manufacturers are working on the development of water-based inks, the slow drying times and poor printing quaUties of the prototype products have impeded commercia1i2ation. Furthermore, the high cost of these materials is seen as a barrier to their introduction. 

Electrolysis. Electrowinning of zirconium has long been considered as an alternative to the KroU process, and at one time zirconium was produced electrolyticaHy in a prototype production cell (70). Electrolysis of an aH-chloride molten-salt system is inefficient because of the stabiUty of lower chlorides in these melts. The presence of fluoride salts in the melt increases the stabiUty of in solution, decreasing the concentration of lower valence zirconium ions, and results in much higher current efficiencies. The chloride—electrolyte systems and electrolysis approaches are reviewed in References 71 and 72. The recovery of zirconium metal by electrolysis of aqueous solutions in not thermodynamically feasible, although efforts in this direction persist. 

At this stage a prototype product is produced, and its performance in the market is assessed. If this is satisfactory, full-scale production is established. But the designer s role does not end at this point. Continuous analysis of the performance of a component usually reveals weaknesses or ways in which it could be improved or made more cheaply. And there is always scope for further innovation for a radically new design, or for a radical change in the material which the component is made from. Successful designs evolve continuously, and only in this way does the product retain a competitive position in the market place. 

Methods are used to produce the more costly rapid prototypes include those that produce models within a few hours. They include photopolymerization, laser tooling, and their modifications. The laser sintering process uses powdered TP rather than chemically reactive liquid photopolymer used in stereolithography. Models are usually made from certain types of plastics. Also used in the different processes are metals (steel, hard alloys, copper-based alloys, and powdered metals). With powder metal molds, they can be used as inserts in a mold ready to produce prototype products. These systems enable having precise control over the process and constructing products with complex geometries. 

Next is to make sample prototype tooling and sample prototype products for the test. Samples made by machining or other simplified model making techniques do not have the same properties as the product made by molding or extrusion or whatever process is to be used (Chapter 3, PROTOTYPES). A product made this way is a sample rather than a testable prototype. Simplified prototypes may reduce trial mold cost and produce adequate test data in some cases. Its main value is appearance and feel to determine whether the aesthetics are correct. Any testing has to be done with considerable reservation and caution. 

Make prototype products and test products to determine if they meet the required function. 

The problem of permeability exists whenever a plastic material is exposed to vapor, moisture, or liquids. Typical cases are electrical batteries, instruments, components installed underground, encapsulated electrical components, food packaging, and various fluid-material containers. In these cases, a plastic material is called upon to form a barrier either to minimize loss of vapor or fluid or to prevent the entrance of vapor or fluid into a product. From the designers viewpoint, the tolerable amount of permeation established by test under conditions of usage with a prototype product of correct shape and material is the only direct answer. 

After this magnificent display, I have a feeling that their eternally tetchy prototype production department asked the morose tech to rework and fix the power supply himself ( we only make first articles, and you know that ). 

Abstract A short review is given of the status of MRAMs and FRAMs, summarizing both industry prototype production and university research. This comparison seems especially timely since this month (July 2006) Freescale have announced the first commercial MRAM product (4 Mb), and the race is now fairly even between the Samsung 32 Mb lead zirconate titanate FRAM and the Matsushita 4 Mb strontium bismuth tantalate FRAM. 

Captopril (Capoten) was the original prototype product, and it was administered three times a day. A once-a-day preparation was subsequently patented and marketed. Prospective multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials have repeatedly demonstrated an early and persistent survival benefit with ACE inhibitors in CHE patients. ACE inhibitors were found superior to hydralazine and nitrates in a direct comparison. ACE inhibitors are now clearly the agents of first choice in the pharmacological management of CHE There are also a number of additional reasons to use ACE inhibitors. The HOPE trial and other studies demonstrated additional survival and renal protective benefits of ACE inhibition in diabetic and/or hypertensive patients long before they develop CHE. 

Certain sectors of the mill shapes industry has indeed market oriented itself. The needs of the researcher, designer, prototyper, production planner, manufacturing manager and even the mainten-... 

Other developments in the area of solid state lithium batteries include prototype production and testing of thin-film microbatteries at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA. The fabrication involves electrode and electrolyte film deposition to form compact layers of thickness of the order of few microns. The cell uses a lithium anode, an amorphous Li3 3PO3.9N0.17 solid electrolyte and an amorphous V205 cathode ... 

When the prototype product satisfies all the requirements for the addition of a new product to the range, set by the business, it is ready for further development. 

With respect to the first point it is obvious that laboratory screws, developmental experiments, and prototype product machines were developed with the workshop technology available in-house. Here in particular, Erdmenger s university training in mechanical engineering and his leadership were an essential driving force on the road to success. The team produced the DA/DK = 32/24 mm laboratory screw as a Bayer house model around 1948. 

Many attempts have been made to overcome these flavor problems. Flavor suppliers have developed many prototype products that address the flavor problem. Suffice to say the technology of flavor development for oil-free dressings and other foods is in an evolutionary state. 

The ability to scale up the abc deformation approach to form SMC structure in a large-scale Ti-64 billets was demonstrated via prototype production. The billets (150 mm in diameter and 200 mm in length) solution treated at 1010°C for 0.5 hr followed water cooling were subjected to near-isothermal multi-step forging comprising of specific combination of multiple upset/drawing operations [3] at the thermo-mechanical conditions provided formation of submicron-sized microstructure. 

Epinephrine Adrenoceptor agonist prototype product of adrenal medulla, some CNS neu-... 

The second way to gain valuable, often missed, preference testing information is to have panelists explore a prototype product and evaluate it without stmc-tured questions or rating scales, such as how it feels, how it goes on the skin, how it looks, etc. The key is to keep the evaluation process open-ended. This will help manufacturers get out of their preconceived product box and acquire novel information. To uncover greater information, the panelists can be interviewed with such questions as How was it for you to use the product What was your experience How did you feel later about the product How do you feel when you apply the product(s) What did you first notice after applying it How do you feel about it now ... 

Design, budd, and evaluate prototype products / services. 

---