Rapid prototyping of a human hand model: a case study

Abstract

This article describes a case study on the comparison of different rapid prototyping techniques and conventional CNC machining to manufacture prototypes of a human hand. A relatively accurate plaster model of a hand was manufactured and digitised using a contact probe system to generate a digital model, which was then used to manufacture SLS, LOM, SLA and CNC prototypes. The costs, manufacturing and delivery times and the quality of the models were parameters compared within the study. The results show that CNC prototyping, for this specific purpose, would be the most adequate prototyping technology. In fact, a less expensive model was obtained in the lowest delivery time. The CNC prototype also presented an excellent surface texture and acceptable dimensional deviations.