VIABILIT OF PROVIDING RAPID PROTOTYPING SERVICES TO RURAL COMPANIES

A RAPID PROTOTYPING SERVICE BUREAU DEDICATED TO HELPING RURAL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES CAN EXPAND THEIR ABILITY TO COMPETE MORE EFFICIENTLY IN A GLOBAL MARKET. THIS RESEARCH WILL STUDY THE CAPITAL AND PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS THAT RURAL COMPANIES WILL NEED TO ADOPT TO USE RAPID PROTOTYPING SERVICES. A WRITTEN SURVEY, AND RANDOM FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEWS WILL REVEAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT ABILITY OF SMALL COMPANIES TO INTEGRATE PROTOTYPING INTO THEIR PROCESSES. THE RESEARCH WILL ALSO SHOW WHAT A RAPID PROTOTYPING SERVICE BUREAU WILL REQUIRE TO PROVIDE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO SMALL COMPANIES. THREE RURAL COMPANIES WILL BE CHOSEN TO SERVE AS MODELS AND A NEW PRODUCT WILL BE DESIGNED AT EACH USING RAPID PROTOTYPING. DATA FROM THIS EXPERIMENT WILL BE USED TO DETERMINE THE SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OF SERVICING SMALL RURAL CUSTOMERS SPREAD OUT OVER LARGE AREAS. PROBLEMS SUCH AS PROVIDING EXTRA SERVICES, TRANSMITTING DATA, AND COORDINATING EFFORTS WILL BE STUDIED. RURAL MANUFACTURING PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT SOURCE FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES. BY IMPROVING THE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO SMALL MANUFACTURE,S RURAL COMMUNITIES CAN KEEP AND EXPAND ROBUST AND DIVERSE ECONOMIES.