Editorial

Citation

Campbell, I. (2013), "Editorial", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/rpj.2013.15619daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Rapid Prototyping Journal, Volume 19, Issue 4

Next month will see the 20th anniversary of my time in additive manufacturing research. In April 1993, I moved to the University of Nottingham and was asked to join the Rapid Prototyping Research Group, led by Phill Dickens. Looking back on that time, it is interesting to remember what our community looked like all those years ago. Rapid prototyping was almost synonymous with stereolithography (at least in the UK) since 3D systems had only quite recently been joined in the market place by other vendors. We had one SLA 250 at Nottingham and it was amongst a handful of machines in the country. It was difficult enough creating good solid models on CAD in those days and generating a sound STL file from the model was not guaranteed. Files were typically transferred on 3.5 in diskettes and STL checking was very rudimentary. Everybody I knew was using their machines simply for prototypes, although the concept of “rapid tooling” was being explored by some. Direct production using AM seemed to be just a dream for the distant future. If someone had been able to give me a glimpse of the future to see the complex end-use parts being made today, they would have astounded me even more than they do today.

So, many things have changed greatly since then, but some have remained the same. For a start, some of the people I met in 1993 are still working in AM and have become close friends and valuable colleagues. As well as Phill, there was Ian Gibson, Terry Wohlers and Dave Bourell. I guess we are all part of the “AM dinosaurs club”! Some of the research aims have remained the same. We were working on a metal AM system called 3D welding at Nottingham since there was a desire to create parts in more durable materials. We still need research in this area. Later that year, I started my PhD on what I called “Design for rapid prototyping” because I recognised that designers needed to be guided on how best to make use of the technology. This is still true today since the capabilities, and therefore possibilities, of the technology are growing all the time. Some of the conferences have also survived the course of time. The summer of 1993 saw my first attendance at the Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium at the University of Texas at Austin and it is great to see that this top-class AM conference is still going strong. I also participated in the 1993 Nottingham Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Conference and, after some twists and turns, it has returned to its original home.

Please forgive my little trip down memory lane but I hope it will be useful in a number of ways. First, I hope it will show today’s generation of AM researchers that we have made astonishing advances over the last 20 years and the next 20 years are truly something to look forward to. Second, I hope they will recognise that research never solves all the problems. New ones come along and old ones transform into new challenges; there will always be plenty for them to do. And finally, I hope that they will be encouraged to carve out their own place in the AM community and in doing so meet as many good friends and colleagues as I have done.

Ian Campbell