Metallization of ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) parts has been studied on flat part surfaces. These parts are fabricated on an FDM (fused deposition modeling machine) using the layer-wise deposition principle using ABS as a part material. Electroless copper deposition on ABS parts was performed using two different surface preparation processes, namely ABS parts prepared using chromic acid for etching and ABS parts prepared using a solution mixture of sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂SO₄/H₂O₂) for etching. After surface preparations using these routes, copper (Cu) is deposited electrolessly using four different acidic baths. The acidic baths used are 5 wt% CuSO₄ (copper sulfate) with 15 wt% of individual acids, namely HF (hydrofluoric acid), H₂SO₄ (sulphuric acid), H₃PO₄ (phosphoric acid) and CH₃COOH (acetic acid). Cu deposition under different acidic baths used for both the routes is presented and compared based on their electrical performance, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The result shows that chromic acid etched samples show better electrical performance and Cu deposition in comparison to samples etched via H₂SO₄/H₂O₂.

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites find wide applications in automobile, aerospace, aircraft and marine industries due to their attractive properties such as lightness of weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness, good dimensional stability and corrosion resistance. Although these materials are required in a wide range of applications, their non-homogeneous and anisotropic properties make their machining troublesome and consequently restrict their use. It is thus important to study not only the machinability of these materials but also to determine optimum cutting parameters to achieve optimum machining performance. The present work focuses on turning of the GFRP composites with an aim to determine the optimal cutting parameters that yield the optimum output responses. The effect of three cutting parameters, i.e., spindle rotational speed (N), feed rate (f) and depth of cut (d) in conjunction with their interactions on three output responses, viz., Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Rate (TWR), and Surface roughness (R_a), is studied using full factorial design of experiments (FFDE). The statistical significance of the cutting parameters and their interactions is determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To relate the output response and cutting parameters, empirical models are also developed. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) combined with Genetic Algorithm (GA) is employed for multi-response optimization to simultaneously optimize the MRR, TWR and R_a.

To solve the tool-making bottleneck, it is fundamental to integrate rapid manufacturing methodologies for rapid tooling, which reduces the lead-time to manufacture the tools while improving their quality. Rapid tooling (RT) is a progression of rapid prototyping (RP). RT is the art of producing tooling directly from CAD models of the part. RT technology plays a major role in increasing the pace of tooling development. This paper describes the role of RT according to the current market situation. An ample review of examples of rapid tooling indicates a new trend of tooling practice. This trend in manufacturing based on rapid prototyping and rapid tooling has already had a dynamic impact on the engineering environment.

In the present study, cylindrical ABS P400 polymer parts (diameter 6.5 mm) to be used as die-sinking EDM (electric discharge machining) novel electrodes were fabricated using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. To meet the conductivity requirement in EDM, ABS parts were metallized using an innovative method that comprised putting aluminum–charcoal (Al–C) on them followed by their copper electroplating. Real-time EDM of the mild steel workpiece was performed using novel electrodes, and machining performance of the electrodes, measured in terms of dimensional accuracy, i.e., change in diameter (ΔD) and change in depth (ΔH) of the cavity, under varying levels of three EDM factors, i.e., current (I), pulse on time (T_on), and pulse off time (T_off), was investigated. Machining results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), perturbation graphs, and 3D surface plots. The optimal setting of the EDM parameters for minimizing ΔD and ΔH was determined using the desirability function approach. The suitability of the novel electrodes for EDM was ascertained by comparing their machining results with those of solid copper (SC) electrodes and electrodes fabricated by FDM and metallized using the electro-deposition method (FDM-EM), already reported in the literature, under similar machining conditions. From the results, it was found that ΔD and ΔH were less when EDM was performed using novel electrodes.