To reduce the time and cost of moulds fabrication, a novel integrated developing and manufacturing system of rapid tooling (RT) based on rapid prototyping (RP) is proposed. The architecture of system which consists of four building blocks: digital prototype, virtualprototype (VP), physicalprototype and RT system, is presented. A digitalprototype can be established by 3D CAD software packages or reveres engineering technique. A VP is employed to guide in optimization of the mould design and manufacturing process planning. A physical prototype, which is built using RP technology, generally serves as a pattern for producing RT. By integrating these building blocks closely, the system can aid effectively in mould design, analysis, prototyping, simulating, and manufacturing process development. Three typical cases are discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the system. It has been shown from a number of case studies that the system has a high potential to reduce further the cycle and cost of die development while minimizing error introduction. As a result, the integrated system provides a feasible and useful tool for companies to speed up their product development.

This paper proposes a novel integrated system of rapid product development based on rapid prototyping, and develops anetworked manufacturing service system which offers better support for the rapid product development in small and mediumsized enterprises by taking full advantage of the quickly evolving computer network and information technologies. Thearchitecture of the networked manufacturing service system is presented. Furthermore, some of the key issues, includingmodelling and planning a manufacturing chain, selecting feasible collaborative manufacturers, queuing a manufacturing task,using the synchronously collaborative work environment, and constructing a suitable running platform, are described in detail.Java-enabled solution, together with web techniques, is employed for building such a networked service system. Finally, anactual example is provided illustrating the application of this service system.

Traditional processes for machining mould cavities are lengthy and costly. Electro-discharge machining (EDM) is the most commonlyused technique to obtain complex mould cavities. However, some electrodes are difficult to fabricate because of the complexity. Applyingrapid prototyping (RP) technology to fabricate an abrading tool which is used to abrade graphite EDM electrodes, the cost and cycle-time cangreatly be reduced. The paper describes the work being conducted in this area by the authors. This technique will find widespread applicationsin rapid steel mould manufacturing.