Rapid prototyping – a technology transfer approach for development of rapid tooling

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply rapid prototyping (RP) philosophy as a technology transfer in industries to take its time and cost‐effective advantages for development of rapid tooling (RT). Design/methodology/approach Experimentations are performed for development of RT for sand casting, investment casting and plastic moulding applications. Findings This paper reports the procedures developed for manufacture of production tooling using RP. A cost/benefit model is developed to justify implementation of RP as a technology transfer in industries. Research limitations/implications The examples are limited to parts build by fused deposition modelling RP process. However, the concepts experimented may be applied for other RP processes. Practical implications RP has proved to be a cost‐effective and time‐efficient approach for development of RT, thereby ensuring possibility for technology transfer in casting as well as plastic industries. Originality/value This is the pioneer attempt towards quantifying RP benefits, in view of technology transfer. This paper presents original case studies and findings on the basis of experimentations performed in foundries.