From CAD and RP to innovative manufacturing BalcN.O. CampbellIan 2006 From CAD and Virtual Prototyping, there are already available many Rapid Prototyping (RP) techniques to produce physical, hand hold able parts. A brief overview is presented of some important aspects regarding how to get a good 3D solid model, how to transfer it to RP machines and how to produce quickly a physical prototype. The RP models could be used for different downstream applications. The paper gives some alternative tooling routes, depending on some criteria, such as: volume production, material and complexity of the parts. The RP models could be used as master models for vacuum casting, metal spraying, investment casting and other innovative manufacturing techniques.