Rapid Prototyping Services

In simpler terms, you use technology to transform a product idea into a physical model.

This early physical model is a prototype. You’ll then refine this until you get the final version right. At that point, you’re ready to use or sell this into a product. So the faster you produce and refine your prototypes, the faster you can start going to market.

All rapid prototypes begin with a CAD design, but manufacturing hardware can range between CNC machining, 3D printing, and more.

You can make rapid prototypes from any material that’s compatible with the manufacturing hardware that you use. This may or may not include surface finishing treatments.

As its name implies, rapid prototyping puts an emphasis on fast turnarounds. Because when you want to develop and ship a product, faster is always better.

Whether you are an engineer, industrial design, or part of a product development team, rapid prototyping can offer you distinct advantages such as:

• The ability to explore and realize concepts in a quick and cost-effective manner. Quick turnaround times and low costs allow teams to move far beyond the visualization of an idea, making it easier to grasp the properties and design of a product in the physical world.
• Reiterate designs and incorporate changes that allow for improved evaluation and functional testing of the product. This iterative process provides a roadmap to developing and refining the final product before taking it to the market, ensuring that your design is optimized and foolproof.
• The ability to physically showcase concepts concisely and effectively. Rapid prototyping takes ideas, images and concepts from an idea or two-dimensional visual into hands-on products that clients, colleagues and collaborators can hold in their hands and see in action.
• The ability to thoroughly test and refine a concept. Being able to minimize design flaws with a small-volume rapid prototype run helps eliminate costly design flaws that might not be evident during an early assessment.
• By using a rapid prototyping service, you can save time and money by eliminating the need for setup and tooling. Since 3ERP can use the same equipment to produce various prototypes with different properties and materials, the overall costs and turnaround time are kept to a minimum.

Making a prototype using rapid prototyping technologies requires CAD software. This software allows you to design a part on a computer, controlling its shape and dimensions and making design adjustments based on the chosen manufacturing technique.

However, whether you are able to develop a feasible CAD design probably depends on your level of design and engineering experience.

Those without prior CAD experience may need to consult a professional product designer to fulfill the design brief. Professionals know how to manipulate the CAD software, and they also know whether a design can realistically be fabricated using hardware like a CNC machine. (We often receive designs that are not manufacturable because they do not take into account factors like draft angles, parting lines and overhangs.)

Those who do have CAD experience — product designers, R&D specialists, etc. — can create a digital design using their design suite of choice then export it to a machine-readable format such as a STEP file (for CNC machining, etc.) or a Mesh file (for 3D printing etc.).

The CAD file is the most important step, but you must also specify a desired material, quantity and surface finish (if required) to the prototyping company.

In many cases, you may prefer to send off Requests for Quotation (RFQs) to several prototyping companies in order to compare quotations in terms of price, proposed lead time and the reputation of the manufacturer.

Once a satisfactory quotation has been received, you can finalize the order with the prototyping company, who will use your digital design and order specifications to commence production.

The prototype will be shipped to you once production is complete.