Laminated Object Manufacturing or LMO is a system used for
rapid prototyping. It consists of adhesive – coated layers of plastic or paper
that are stuck together with the help of glue and then cut into an appropriate
shape with the help of a laser cutter or a knife.
How does Laminated Object Manufacturing Work? The
LMO is used to manufacture 3 – D objects that are cut on the basis of the
geometrical data that is available with the system. The laser that is used in
the LMO is a carbon dioxide laser that is capable of creating cross sections of
3 – D objects successively, from layers of foil, usually paper. The back of the
3 – D object that is created has a polyethylene coating on it.
The computer with the help of which the LMO runs, has the ability
to slice a solid 3 – D model into 2 – D cross sections that are thin. Every
cross section would have a thickness that is equivalent to the thickness of
each of the materials that is used for the process of prototyping.
The system also consists of a rewinding and an unwinding
roll. These are connected to each other with the sheet of the material that is
being used to manufacture the prototype. The sheet is routed with the help if
the idler rollers that are also present in the machine. The rolls are the ones
that supply the material to the machine and also store it, if need be.
The laminated part of the prototype is built one a platform
that is capable of incremental vertical movement. The movement of the platform
is brought about by a stepping motor. On the top of the platform, is a heated
roller that can both, heat and compress the stacks of sheets or ribbons that
are placed on the lamination platform. The heated roller moves in a reciprocal
manner and binds the ribbon material by heating it.
The machine also has an x-y table that carries and positions
the mirrors that in turn reflect the beam that is emitted by the laser. The
table also carries the lens that ultimately focuses the laser beam on the
surface of the stack that is laminated so as to cut the top most layer of the
stack.
The scrap pieces that are produced as a result of the
building process stay on the platform itself. These are basically diced by the
beam of the laser into several squares in the cross hatched pattern. The scraps
serve as a support for the part. When the built part is removed from the
machine, it is in the form of a block. The cross hatched scrap pieces can be
easily separated from the block.
Why Use the Laminated Object Manufacturing? The machine can be used to build larger models
for the purpose of sand casting or to understand the conceptual design of
something. Although Laminated Object Manufacturing is a great way to build
prototypes of large machines, it cannot be used to build hollow parts.
Nevertheless, it is relatively less expensive and a much faster way of building
robust parts for rapid prototyping.
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