• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.759-762
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• 2000

Rapid Prototyping (RP) techniques have their unique characteristics according to the working principles: stair-stepped surface of parts due to layer-by-layer stacking, low build speed caused by line-by-line solidification to build one layer, and additional post processing to improve surface roughness, so it is required very high cost to introduce and to maintain RP apparatus. The objective of this study is to develop and design a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing using expandable polystyrene foam sheet as part material (VLM-S), which can make up for the disadvantage of existing techniques, and to develop an apparatus to implement the process. In order to examine the possibility of practical utilization of the proposed VLM-S process for prototyping of a general three-dimensional shape, an auto-shift lever knob and a pyramid shape were fabricated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.763-766
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• 2000

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have their unique characteristics according to the working principles: stair-stepped surface of parts due to layer-by-layer stackin, low build speed caused by line-by-line solidification to build one layer, and additional post processing to improve surface roughness, so it is required very high cost to introduce and to maintain RP apparatus. The objective of this study is to develop software for automatic generation of unit shape part (USP) for a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing using linear hotwire cutting technique and expandable polystyrene foam sheet as part material (VLM-S). In order to examine the applicability of the developed software to VLM-S, USP's of general three-dimensional shapes, such as an auto-shift lever knob and a pyramid shape were generated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Resources Recycling Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.165-169
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• 2003

Current volume reduction methods for wasted expandable polystyrene (EPS) foam are summarized and compared each other. Wasted EPS foam has not been recycled effectively because of its large volume to weight ratio. This has prevented from its proper recycling because of high cost of transportation to recycling plant. Successful recycling of wasted EPS foam results directly from successful, i.e. economically and environmentally, volume reduction of wasted EPS foam. This paper deals with various methods for volume reduction methods of wasted EPS foam. Five typical methods of volume reduction are introduced and they are compared each other in terms of expected PS properties after volume reduction, cost effectiveness of each process, possible effects on environment caused by the volume reduction process, and possible recycled products. The methods include thermal, solvent, far infrared and mechanical compaction. Comparison in this paper is made mostly in qualitative manner. The focus in this study is concentrated on summarizing and comparing existing methods of volume reduction for wasted EPS foam.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.185-194
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• 2000

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have their unique characteristics according to the working principles: stair-stepped surface of parts due to layer-by-layer stacking, low build speed caused by line-by-line solidification to build one layer, and additional post processing to improve surface roughness, so it is required very high cost to introduce and to maintain of RP apparatus. The objective of this study is to develop a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing using linear hotwire cutting technique and expandable polystyrene foam sheet as part material(VLM-S), and to investigate characteristics of part material, cutting characteristics by using linear hotwire cutting system and bonding. Experiments were carried out to investigate mechanical properties of part material such as anisotropy and directional tensile strength. In order to obtain optimal dimensional accuracy, surface roughness, and reduced cutting time, addition experiments were performed to find the relationship between cutting speed and cutting offset of hotwire, and heat generation of hotwire per unit length. So, adhesion strength tests according to ASTM test procedure showed that delamination did not occur at bonded area. Based on the data, a clover-shape was fabricated using unit shape part(USP) it is generated hotwire cutting. The results of present study have been reflected on the enhancement of the VLM-S process and apparatus.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.910-913
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• 2001

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have unique characteristics according to their working principle: the stair-stepped surface of a part due to layer-by-layer stacking, low building speed, and additional post-processing to improve surface roughness. A new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing by using expandable polystyrene foam(VLM-S), has been developed to overcome the unfavorable characteristics. The objective of this study is to investigate the thermal characteristics and skeleton size effects as the hotwire cuts EPS foam sheet in order to improve dimensional accuracy of the parts, which is produced by VLM-S. Empirical and analytical approaches are performed to find the relationship between cutting speed and heat input, and the relationship between maximum available cutting speed and heat input. In addition, empirical approaches are carried out to find the relationship between cutting error and skeleton size, and cutting deviation and skeleton size. Based on these results, the optimal hotwire cutting condition and available minimum skeleton size are derived. The outcomes of this study are reflecting in the enhancement of VLM-S input data generation S/W.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.54-63
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• 2001

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have their unique characteristics according to the working principles: stair-stepped surface of a part due to layer-by-layer stacking, low build speed caused by point-by-point or line-by-line solidification to build one layer, and additional posts processing to improve surface roughness, so high cost is required to introduce and to maintain the RP apparatus. The objective of this study is to develop a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing by using expandable polystyrene foam sheet as part material(VLM-S), and to design an apparatus for implementation of the process. So, the process parameters and design criterions of the apparatus were defined and the techniques were proposed to satisfy the design criterion. Based on the results, a knob-shape, pyramid shape. and a solid block were fabricated on the apparatus in which unit shape part(USP) was generated for building each layer.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.64-70
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• 2001

In all the Rapid Prototyping (RP) techniques, the computer-aided design (CAD) model of a three-dimensional part is sliced into horizontal layers of uniform, but not necessarily constant, thickness in the building direction. Each cross- sectional layer is successively deposited and, at the same time, bonded onto the previous layer. The stacked layers form a physical part of the model. The objective of this study is to develop a software for automatic generation of unit shape part(USP) for a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing using the linear hotwire cutting technique and expandable polystyrene foam sheet as part material(VLM-S). In order to examine the applicability of the developed software to VLM-S, USPs of general three-dimensional shapes, such as an auto-shift lever knob and a pyramid shape were generated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.16-19
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• 2001

Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Tooling (RT) were introduced to reduce time-to-market and cost by shortening not only the development phase but also the production phase of the manufacturing process. RP generally builds up a prototype layer by layer, rapidly generating a fully three-dimensional free form shape. RT enables the manufacture of production tools. The integration of RP and RT has the potential for rapid net shaping of thee-dimensional parts, which have geometrical complexity. In this study, net shaping techniques for making three-dimensional parts using RP and RT are described and a sample part are shown. A three-dimensional metal part is manufactured by a new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing by using Expandable Polystyrene Foam (VLM-S), and its application to RT for making a clover punch. In addition, we discussed the technology fusion between metal forming md RP/RT.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.212-221
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• 2003

In order to reduce the lead-time and cost, the technology of rapid prototyping (RP) has been widely used. A new rapid prototyping process, transfer-type variable lamination manufacturing process by using expandable polystyrene foam (VLM-ST), has been developed to reduce building time, apparatus cost and additional post-processing. At the same time, VLM Slicer, the CAD/CAM software for VLM-ST has been developed. In this study, algorithms for accuracy improvement of VLM-ST, which include offset and overrun of a cutting path and generation of a reference shape are developed. Offset algorithm improves cutting accuracy, overrun algorithm enables the VLM-ST process to make a shape of sharp edge and reference shape generation algorithm adds additional shape which makes off-line lamination easier. In addition, proposed algorithms are applied to practical CAD models for verification.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.1414-1417
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• 2004

A thick-layered RP process, transfer-type variable lamination manufacturing using expandable polystyrene foam (VLMST) has been developed to have the advantageous characteristics such as high building speed, low cost for introduction and maintenance of VLM-ST apparatus, and little staircase surface irregularities of parts. However, VLM-ST has difficulty fabricating an axisymmetric shape and a large-sized freeform shape because of the limited sloping angles and small build size. The objective of this paper is to develop a multi-functional hotwire cutting system using EPS-foam (MHC). MHC employs a four-axis synchronized hotwire cutter with the structure of two XY movable heads and a turntable. In order to examine the applicability of the developed MHC apparatus, an axisymmetric shape, a polyhedral shape and a large-sized freeform shape were fabricated on the apparatus.