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Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Web Sites

When I first became involved with rapid tool making, I had considerable difficulty locating sources of supplies. Hopefully, this listing will help others who are new to the field get a jump start. Please note that I have not personally dealt with all of the companies listed here, so I can't vouch for the quality of their products.

Mold Making Supplies

Synair Corporation - Manufacturers of mold making supplies (RTV silicones, polyurethane, etc.)

Bare-Metal Foil & Hobby Co. - Suppliers of mold making supplies (RTV silicone, etc.)

GoldenWest Manufacturing - Casting resins, machineable plastic, foam board, etc.

Silicones, Inc. - Manufacturer of RTV silicone materials

Far West Materials - Mold making and casting supplies.

Catalogue of Sculptors' Tools, Materials and Studio Equipment

Fiberglass , Epoxy , Composites - Shopman Inc

Sculpture House Casting Home Page

\Perma-Flex\

Polytek - manufacturers of flexible molding and resin casting materials 

The Compleat Sculptor, Inc.

DRU Industries, Inc.

Micro-Mark - Hobby Tools - Casting Materials

Metal Casting Equipment and Supplies

FDJ On Time - Extensive list of investment casting supplies (furnaces, investment, etc.)

WestCast - Investment casting supplies and information

Rio Grande - Casting supplies

Hallmark Metals Corporation - Supplier of low melting point alloys that can be used with RTV silicone molds.

Atlas Metal Sales - Suppliers of casting ingots (aluminum, bronze, pewter, etc).

Purity Casting Alloys - Babbitt, Heater treater anodes, Zincs, Pewter, Anodes, Corrosion Protection, Solder, Supplies, aluminum, tin.

Rapid Prototyping Links

The Rapid Prototyping Resource Center - A very well organized set of links to Rapid Prototyping-related pages

Rapid Prototyping Mailing List Archive - Discussions on every imaginable RP topic

Machine Building and Control

Creform - A system of reusable plastic coated steel tubing and joints that is widely used in industry to build material handling devices, assembly workstations, etc. We use it extensively in our manufacturing labs.

80/20, Inc. - The Industrial Erector Set - System of extruded aluminum channel and connectors for building high strength structures like machine frames. We've used it to build things like a chair testing machine that determines whether or not a chair meets government standards.

MondoTronics Robot Store - Robot hardware, software, electronics, books, etc.

Parallax - Suppliers of the Basic Stamp microcontroller and accessories. Very useful for low cost automation projects.

Scott Edwards Electronics - Electronic components and kits.

Marlin P. Jones & Associates - Electromechanical components and kits.

Jameco - Electronic products and computer components.

General Lab Equipment and Supplies

Fisher Scientific - All kinds of lab supplies

Grainger - Industrial equipment and supplies

MSC - Industrial equipment and supplies

Tool and Die Makers