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design > Virtual designs into physical objects > Additive
manufacturing Rapid prototyping machines are like three
dimensional printers that turn virtual designs on a computer
into solid objects, by building up extremely thin cross-
sectional layers, usually some kind of polymer, one on top of
the other. This is known generically as additive fabrication in
contrast to CNC milling which is subtractive, starting from a
larger solid block of material. Currently they are used mostly
in industry to create accurate parts for developmental designs
and prototypes. But they are increasingly being used in short
manufacturing runs and is known in this circumstance as rapid
manufacturing. There are a variety of types currently in use: -
Fused deposition modelling (FDM) which extrudes thin strands of
molten material such as ABS - Selective laser sintering (SLS)
which fuses nylon powder or metals with a laser - Electron-beam
melting (EBM) which fuses metal powder us