Rapid Prototyping. Technologies

Rapid Prototyping (RP) employs several technologies to fabricate high-quality parts with the direct utilization of Computer Aided Design (CAD) generated data.

Usually RP is laser (Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation) based; nevertheless, it also uses other technologies that do not utilize lasers.

Some of the technologies that are utilized in RP are

CAD
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
StereoLithography Apparatus (SLA)
Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS®)
Electron Beam Melting (EBM)
Multi Jet Modeling (MJM)
Patternless Casting Modeling (PCM)
three dimensional printing (3DP) technologies
Jetted Photopolymer (J-P) technology

The use of robotics technology is known as Robocasting, which is also used in RP.
RP’s underlying technology is to splice the CAD diagram into cross-sectional triangulated blocks via a stereolithographic file and then build the object block by block at specific points in physical space, using iterative layers of the building materials, which may be in the form of a sheet, liquid, or powder.
The smaller the cross-sectional blocks, the sturdier is the prototype and the better is the finish. As each block is added to the previous block, this method is also known as additive fabrication, although some subtraction may also take place, according to the needs of the design. Due to the creation of smaller blocks, complicated three-dimensional objects can be made easily and quickly with RP.

Any technology that can rapidly produce a part has now come to be known as a RP technology; however, in its truest sense, a RP technology is additive in nature and thus, SLA and SLS are the foremost RP technologies.