Browsing by Author "de Beer, Deon"

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    Additive Manufacturing in South Africa: Building on the Foundations
    (Emerald, 2011) de Beer, Deon; Campbell, R. I.; Pei, Eujin
    Purpose – In a previous Rapid Prototyping Journal paper, the authors reviewed the first decade of rapid prototyping (RP) use within the Republic of South Africa (RSA). The paper analysed its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and proposed a “road map” for future development. Much has happened in the intervening years since that article was published and this paper seeks to update readers on the current situation in RSA. In particular, it reports the extensive development of research in the field of RP and additive manufacturing (AM). Design / methodology / approach – The paper uses a literature review approach combined with reflective analysis to distill the most important developments within the RP community in RSA since 2004. These are compared to the previous road map to ascertain if there are any required actions that have been overlooked or any additional lessons that have been learnt. Findings – The paper shows that there has been good progress against the previous road map and that current plans should remain in place with the addition of a greater educational dimension. Practical implications – This paper provides readers with an overview of important RP/AM developments in the RSA. The analysis from this paper will aid RSA academics, industrialists and government agencies to assess their performance and to plan for their future roles within the RP community. Originality / value – As with the previous paper, this paper provides a useful model for other countries to follow since it demonstrates both good practice but also the need to learn from past experience.
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    Entry level RP machines: How well can they cope with geometric complexity
    (Emerald, 2011) Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.; de Beer, Deon
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the limitations of entry-level rapid prototyping (ELRP) machines when fabricating objects with high complexity. Design / methodology / approach – The literature review provides an overview of RP technologies, followed by a discussion on the different levels of complexity in objects. The paper continues with a discussion on the definition of ELRP, followed by a number of experiments to explore the limitations of an ELRP system when fabricating complex models, and to compare the results obtained with those from a professional RP machine using standardised build parameters and the same acrylonitrile butadiene styrene material. Findings – Of the five complex models that were produced from the Rapman machine, four of them were affected by warping; also, support structures were difficult to remove due to the interwoven build pattern. The study also found that the Rapman parts were coarsely built as opposed to the Dimension parts that were less coarse. The Rapman parts were also much lighter due to the hollow internal structure, as compared to the dimension parts that were virtually solid. From a quantitative viewpoint, parts produced from the Rapman machine showed significantly greater average errors in both absolute and percentage terms. Practical implications – Users should bear in mind the restrictions of ELRP machines when fabricating complex shapes. The models may be prone to warping and the support structures could be difficult to remove. Originality / value – This paper allows developers to understand the restrictions when fabricating complex models on an ELRP machine. The findings will also enable manufacturers to develop better entry-level systems.