A Comparative Study of Product Development Process Using Computer Numerical Control and Rapid Prototyping Methods

Manufacturing is the transformation of ideas, designs, materials and information into products for satisfaction of human needs. However, advanced manufacturing technology is the application of advances in production methodologies to increase productivity, improve existing products and produce quality new products that meet all global standards. This paper presents a comparative study of the Nigeria Coat of Arms, for use as a Seal, using computer numeric control (CNC) and rapid prototyping (RP) methods. The total production time of the components was considered in both cases of using the CNC machine and the RP machine. The same speed and feed rate were used in both machines but the machine physical differences: stress, temperature etc, were not considered. The production time using the CNC machine was 27.81 hours while on the RP machine, the production time was 8.43 hours. This goes to show that for product development, the RP machine would be more suitable than the CNC machine. In a developing economy like Nigeria, knowledge management of machine tool is a vital key to having vibrant manufacturing sector able to cope with the dynamic challenges of increasing globalised world.