GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON MACHINE DESIGN

• There is pioneering work in machine design taking place in all three regions surveyed, the United States, Europe, and Japan.

• At present, the regional best machine design is at rough parity in the three regions.

• Japan is working toward developing RP machines that can compete with CNC machines in performance (especially accuracy) and in price. At present, the focus of this work is on laser photolithography.

• There is a strategic issue of access to suppliers of lasers, scanners, and other critical components.