In a small workshop on the campus of Saddleback College, Ed Tackett and Ken Patton believe they’re molding the future of manufacturing.
Their rapid prototyping machines take computer designs and transform them into products forged from ceramics, plastic and other materials.
Plastic hearts for surgeons to train with, models of buildings for architects and just about any object you can name can be built with their machines.
“The technology can do for manufacturing what digital printing did for Kinko’s,” said Tackett, director of Saddleback College Advanced Technology Center.
Saddleback in Mission Viejo claims to have the only program in the country for certifying technicians in rapid prototyping. It’s one of a handful of schools in Southern California to have the capability.
Students learn out of a workshop not much bigger than a two-car garage, with about a half-dozen prototyping machines that range in size from an office copier to an industrial-sized water boiler. Their cost ranges from less than $20,000 to $750,000.
The machines build objects by adding layers of material according to their designs. Rather than carving from a block, the material is added in sprays, like how an inkjet printer puts images on paper. Lasers are used for cut details.
Since the program’s start four years ago, Saddleback has received $6 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and the state of California.
Saddleback also gets donations from companies averaging about $500,000 a year.
The school works with companies around the country, including about 400 in Orange County, to provide them with rapid prototyping services.
The lab has made figurines for the animators of the movie “Shrek” and model planes for Boeing Co.
One former student even started his own business making figurines from characters of the role playing game “World of Warcraft” by Blizzard Entertainment of Irvine.
Local inventors also create prototypes with Saddleback’s machines.
Most of the contract work Saddleback does is small numbers of models for companies.
The technology isn’t mainstream enough to produce products in mass.
“Companies haven’t figured out how to leverage this yet,” Tackett said.
He said he thinks that will change.
Rapid prototyping has its roots in the 1980s. It didn’t become popular until about five years ago when prices started to come down, according to Tackett.
“For a long time this was considered experimental backroom type stuff,” he said.
The auto and aerospace industries were the first to adopt it for making models.
The latest advancements have come with new materials. Cobalt chrome and nanomaterial are as durable as steel but flexible enough for the prototyping machines to work with.
Better lasers have allowed for rapid prototyping with titanium metal.
The two biggest things rapid prototyping has going for it: fast production times and an ability to do custom work, according to Tackett.
“It shortens the time to go the market tenfold,” he said.
Speed helps compete with Chinese manufacturers that can take weeks to ship products to the U.S.
Companies that rely on mass customization could benefit from the technology, Tackett said.
The technology allows companies to be more nimble with their product lines, he said.
“The potential for on-demand manufacturing with this is huge,” Tackett said.
Invisible braces used in orthodontics are one example, he said.
Tackett started the program four years ago with the college’s dean of business science, workforce and economic development, Ken “Chip” Patton.
“Ed is one of the top guys in the country for this,” Patton said.
The program is in its second year of classes. This is the first year Saddleback has had full classes.
Patton said he expects more demand from students.
“For every student I have, there’s five people ready to hire them,” Tackett said.
Potential wages for graduates becoming technicians range from $14 to $35 an hour.
