About Rapid Manufacturing
Rapid manufacturing of any design.
Rapid prototyping.
Rapid response to any change.
Rapid reverse engineering to re-build any existing part.
NW Rapid Manufacturing is a leading rapid prototype manufacturer and provider of product development services using sls laser sintering technology to produce custom prototypes, parts, and end-use products direct from CAD data.
Initially, Northwest UAV first purchased “prototype” parts from the open market. Part quality was often poor and delivery was unreliable. Thin parts were quite often held together with glue rather than fully bonded by the laser. In early 2008, NWUAV was able to purchase their own equipment. Just days after installation, the EOS P390 became a workhouse, producing strong thin walls with no post processing.
To build on this quality and competency, Northwest Rapid Manufacturing was formed in late 2008. NW Rapid is a woman-owned company and part of the NWUAV Family of Companies in McMinnville, OR. Northwest Rapid works closely with Northwest UAV Propulsion Systems to find applications in the UAV industry. Interesting is that the materials and processes for this industry lend well to other high performance industries.
After more than a year of 24/7 operation, NW Rapid Mfg’s P390 was joined by an additional EOS P730 machine. With the P730 taking over the bulk of production, this allowed the P390 to be used for development projects and production in specialty materials. This work is supported by Alexander Dick, former EOS Application Engineer who joined NWUAV in the summer of 2009.
