What is Rapid Prototyping?

800-Pound Gorilla
A company that dominates an industry short of having a complete monopoly.

E
Defined as Symbol E or Young Modulous which is the ratio of normal stress to the corresponding strain for tensile or compressive stresses less than the proportional limit of the material. Or, The ratio of normal stress within the proportional limit to the corresponding normal strain.

Eden 500V (Objet)
High-quality (HQ) and high-speed (HS) 3D printer by Stratasys which builds ultra-thin layers with PolyJet™ technology an a variety of resins: Transparent FullCure720 model material | VeroBlue FullCure840 model material | TangoGray FullCure950, rubber like flexible material, shore 75A.

Elastic
Capable of returning to its original shape after being stretched or compressed elastic deformation The part of the deformation of an object under load which is recoverable when the load is removed.

Elasticity
That property of a material by virtue of which it tends to recover its original size and shape after deformation. If the strain is proportional to the applied stress, the material is said to exhibit Hookean or ideal elasticity.

Elastomer
A material which at room temperature stretches under low stress to at least twice its length and snaps back to the original length upon release of stress. elongation The change in the length of a body pulled in one direction by the application of a force.

Electron Beam Melting (EBM)
The Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process from Arcam is a powder-based process having a lot in common with selective laser sintering, but replaces the laser with a scanned electron beam to produce fully-dense metal parts.

Electronic Marketplace
A virtual market for buyers and sellers implemented through the Internet or World Wide Web. Also known as a web exchange.

Elongation
The percentage increase in length of the speciment at its breaking point. [Also referred to as ASTM D638]

End-to-End
Used largely by technology vendors to imply that whatever they build for one part of your organization will work with whatever they build for another.

Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC)
The susceptibility of a thermoplastic to crack or craze under influence of chemical treatment and/or mechanical stress.

Ester
The reaction product of an alcohol and an acid.

Ethylene
Chemical compound from which polyethylene is made. ethylene glycol One of the monomers from which polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is made.

Ethylene-vinyl Acetate
Copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate having many of the properties of polyethylene, but of considerably increased flexibility for its density. Elongation and impact resistance are also increased.

Evolutionary Acquisition
An acquisition strategy that defines, develops, produces or acquires, and fields an initial hardware or software increment (or block) of operational capability. It is based on technologies demonstrated in relevant environments,time-phased requirements, and demonstrated manufacturing or software deployment capabilities. The capabilities can be provided in a shorter period of time, followed by subsequent increments of capability over time that accommodate improved technology and allowing for full and adaptable systems over time. Each increment will meet a militarily useful capability specified by the user (i.e. at least the thresholds set by the user for that increment); however, the first increment may represent only 60% to 80% of the desired final capability. [See spiral development, increment, or pre-planned product improvement] ~ Taken from a memorandum f understanding written by US Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, E.C. Aldridge, Jr. in 2002.

Exotherm
(1) The temperature/time curve of a chemical reaction giving off heat, particularly the polymerization of casting resins. (2) The amount of heat given off. The term has not been standardized regarding sample size, ambient temperature, degree of mixing, etc.

Exothermal Reaction
A chemical reaction in which heat is released.

Extender
A substance added to a plastic composition to reduce the amount of the primary resin required per unit area.