| 摘要 |
The invention relates to a method and system for producing verified component designs and for assisting in tool design to near-production specification in the materials of choice, via production processes and in considerably shorter time scales than has previously been possible. The method comprises the steps of: (a) pouring a mould matrix material around a pattern of the article to be produced in a mould bounded by solid, inflexible retaining means; (b) causing said mould matrix material to harden to produce a flexible moulding medium; (c) removing the pattern from the flexible moulding medium to leave a mould cavity conforming to the profile of the pattern; (d) forming or moulding an article in the mould cavity under production-representative conditions of temperature and pressure, and (e) removing the article from the mould cavity; characterised in that said flexible moulding medium produced in step (b) above by causing said mould matrix material to harden having the following physical properties: flexural strength in the range 20-300 MPa; flexural modulus in the range 700-10,000 MPa; tensile strength in the range 16-200 MPa; tensile modulus in the range 850-10,000 MPa; compressive strength in the range 24-500 MPa; compressive modulus in the range 400-10,000 MPa; hardness in the range 5-100 Vickers; and relative density in the range -10 g/cm<3>. |
