FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Cathy Westhouse                                                                       Tom Mueller

The NarupGroup                                                                            Express Pattern, Inc.

847.853.9400                                                                             847.996.6702

cwesthouse@narup.com tmueller@expresspattern.com

Express Pattern to Unveil an Exclusive
NEW SLA Resin Selection Guide for Functional Prototypes
at RAPID 2008

Express Pattern’s Tom Mueller to Present “The Rapid Manufacturing You Didn’t
Know About and How it is Changing the Way We Manufacture Metal Components”
at the Tuesday May 20, 2008 Conference Session

Vernon Hills, IL – Express Pattern Inc., the leader in prototype and short run investment casting patterns, and one of the largest US rapid prototyping services bureaus, will unveil their NEW Express Pattern Resin Selection Guide in booth #121 at RAPID 2008, May 20-23, 2008, Disney’s Coronado Spring, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. This exclusive Express Pattern Resin Section Guide provides specific criteria for selecting SLA resins to simulate molded plastic materials. Express Pattern’s team of experts will be available in the booth to hand out Resin Section Guides and discuss rapid prototype solutions for functional prototypes and investment castings.

In addition, Express Pattern’s Tom Mueller will present “The Rapid Manufacturing You Didn’t Know About and How it is Changing the Way We Manufacture Metal Components” during the conference session on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 2:20 pm.  This presentation offers invaluable insight into the metal manufacturing scene, and shows how Indirect Rapid Manufacturing (IRM) is positively impacting the way metal components are manufactured. IRM uses an additive fabrication process to create an intermediate step in the manufacturing process of an end use part. This process is already used in many industries today, and the presentation illustrates that there is a lot of potential for this new alternative. Design complexity, production volume and incremental manufacturing costs are the three principle factors that are examined in comparing manufacturing costs of the different processes. From the comparisons and graphs it is evident that IRM is a viable alternative to machining and investment casting and is advantageous when dealing with higher complexity, lower volume metal manufacturing applications.

Tom Mueller and Express Pattern partner Dave Flynn, leaders from the start and innovators in the growth of the stereolithography industry for nearly two decades, co-founded Express Pattern in 1999.

Express Pattern specializes in creating high quality QuickCast™ and Thermojet™ investment casting patterns and functional prototype parts that are accurate, consistent, repeatable, and have a superior surface finish. Express Pattern’s recently expanded 20,000 sq. ft. facility in Vernon Hills, IL, has 12 QuickCast™ stereolithography (SLA) units and 9 Thermojet™ systems. Employing 25 highly effective project managers, engineers, and solutions specialists, the company also attributes much of its growth to its team of experts placing a high value on the people-side of Express Pattern’s business. The team is known to go beyond the expected to assist Express Pattern’s customers in developing procedures that successfully and reliably process investment casting patterns and prototype production.

For more information, contact Tom Mueller, Express Pattern Inc., 100 Fairway Drive, Suite 102, Vernon Hills, IL 60061. Phone: 847.996.6700 Fax: 847-996.6701 www.expresspattern.com