Book Review: Achieve Design Success with the Right Tools

By Susan Smith

Ronald L. Hollis, president, CEO, and co-founder of Quickparts.com (Atlanta, GA) has written an informative and entertaining book, Better Be Running, that covers all the different rapid prototyping processes and what they are best used for, what Hollis dubs the “tools to drive design success.”

Hollis suggests that without proper information, engineers might ask for the wrong technologies to build their parts. Knowing the difference between stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS),  and fused deposition modeling (FDM) — all known as additive fabrication (AF)  processes — can make all the difference in how companies can get their products produced with the right material features and properties. Hollis outlines how companies can save and lose money using the different technologies, and points out the differences between high- and low-tech manufacturing such as CNC and low volume injection molding.

The appeal of the book is in part its delivery: interspersed with the flow of valuable technical information on each type of rapid prototyping technology is an ongoing story about “Johnny Quickparts, P.E.,”  “humble super-geek,” who works for Acme Design Corporation. Johnny’s adventures take him from the task of designing the Olympic torch (actually it is a plastic replica of the torch to be used in a trade show) to a trip to China which garners him many wins. Other endearing characters in the Acme lineup include Mr. Overrun, Johnny’s boss, and Helen Helpalot from Quickparts.com, whom it is hinted at rather strongly might be Johnny’s secret love interest.

Hollis is also well versed in what China has to offer, and describes commerce in China as a mixed bag of threat and opportunity. He notes that the country has expanded quickly as the manufacturing center of the world — due in large part to the freedoms it has adopted over the past 35 years. The U.S. has lost its competitive edge, according to Hollis, and needs to regain it by running to keep up and overtake competitors. He describes the Chinese system of capitalist communism as being “like a two-headed dragon with a split personality,” but notes that by focusing on core competencies in each region of the world, the U.S. can develop more products “faster, better, easier.”

Also discussed as “a strategy that works” is the hybrid manufacturing solution, referring to leveraging the strengths of both China and the U.S. to get parts manufactured as efficiently as possible.

Better Be Running is a fast and enjoyable read, suitable for those entering the field of rapid prototyping or attempting to decide just which RP process best meets their manufacturing needs.

Quickparts.com
Atlanta,GA
quickparts.com

Better Be Running
By Ronald L. Hollis, Ph.D., P.E.
Publisher: CLSI, June 13, 2007
ISBN-10:  0979576024
ISBN-13:  978-0979576027

Susan Smith is a contributing editor for Desktop Engineering magazine. She has been an editor and writer for the technology industry for more than 15 years and resides in Santa Fe, NM. Send e-mail about this article to [email protected].