Development of Freeform Master I – a Desktop RP Machine Based on a New Sheet Lamination Process 283

A novel process was developed for building Rapid Prototyping(RP) parts using a sheet lamination technique. The building process of existing sheet lamination RP machines consist of the following steps : feeding, lamination and cutting. In this process, the laminated part of an object is often scratched by a cutter or damaged by a laser beam due to the cutting operation after the lamination step. In addition, decubing of the unused portion from the laminated block is difficult. In the new process, however, cutting is performed before lamination. The cutting operation takes place while a paper sheet is firmly attached, using electrostatic force on the plate. Then liquid glue is applied only to the calculated region of the given contour for lamination. This new process aims to manufacture a $2k RP machine, what we call the Freeform Master I and can use A4 size or letter size sheets of paper. A prototyping machine that demonstrates the concept design was built and further research issues are discussed