Design of  a CAD and Rapid Prototyping based production process for porcelain

Abstract: The present work has as aim implementing a CAD and rapid prototyping based production process in a porcelain company. There is considerable interest in ceramic companies in implementing new digital technologies in an old-fashioned industry, where traditional handscraft predominate.   The work is carried out in collaboration with Rörstrand Kulturforum AB, whose current process is analyzed, pointing out strengths and weaknesses, to define where to set the focus and the actions to perform. This analysis goes from early stages of product design to slipcasting clay bodies, the forming process of porcelain that uses plaster moulds.   As a result of this analysis, some alternatives including rapid prototyping and CNC milling techniques are defined and compared to one another. Eventually, the definitive solution features CNC milling as the main prototyping system, shaping the mother moulds out of a polyurethane block. This process skips some initial steps, such as manual modelling and mould casting, resulting saving in the new product development. Anyhow, the new process is yet to be tested in the company’s own environment to fully implement it, regarding to various parameters such as the size of the production and the complexity of the products to be manufactured.