staff Prototype tooling is often overlooked as a necessary step in product development. However, skipping prototype molding can lead to a series of required production tool adjustments, increasing overall cost and project timelines.
Prototype injection mold tooling costs less than complex or aluminum tooling and provides critical design and functionality testing. It can also help you avoid costly mistakes down the road.
Invest in 3D Printing.
Prototype injection tooling can quickly gather critical feedback on design, material performance and quality, and part function in a short turnaround. This helps engineers avoid expensive and risky production changes later in the process. They typically turn around an injection mold for a prototype in under 13 business days and, upon request, can make certain products in under five.
Prototype tooling is a temporary solution that enables industry-required testing before selling a product. Skipping prototype tooling to jump straight to production will save a manufacturer money, but it is expensive.
Producing a new product without first making a prototype is like shooting in the dark. Predicting a final outcome is almost impossible and can result in costly mistakes. This is especially true regarding complex shapes, jigs, fixtures, or other components. 3D printing is an ideal technology to help manufacturers be more agile with capital and reduce the risks associated with investing in complex or aluminum tooling.
Invest in Laser Cutting
Laser cutting offers high precision and speed. In addition, it allows for a much smaller investment than other prototyping methods. In the long run, this can save you significant time and money.
Laser cutters can work with a variety of materials and can be adjusted to accommodate various thicknesses. This means they can produce accurate prototypes for a wide range of applications.
One potential drawback of laser cutting is that it can create heat in the material. To address this, laser cutters often use a water coolant to reduce heat buildup and ensure the correct cutting path.
Another benefit of prototype injection molding is that it can help identify and correct design issues. This can save valuable time and money in the long run, as it can prevent costly mistakes that would be expensive to fix later in production. It is also possible to avoid over-engineering, which can cause issues when the product is being produced on a large scale.
Invest in CNC Turning
Prototype tooling is a critical step that allows engineers to test their design and demonstrate the functionality of a product before investing in production. This saves significant time and money in bringing a fully functional product to market, especially in medical devices which must meet rigorous regulatory compliance.
The prototype parts and tools are fabricated from hard or soft materials depending on the intended production volume; Soft molds are popular for prototype injection molding because they typically cost less than production tools. They also allow for faster turnaround of molded parts, which reduces project risks during development and allows for more critical design testing.
A CNC lathe translates CAD files into program code that drives the machine to cut out components. These components are then assembled to create a finished product. CNC turning helps reduce part costs by reducing manufacturing times, material waste, and energy consumption. It also improves scalability, consistency, and quality without increasing labor costs.
Invest in Molding
Injection molding is a crucial tool for prototype production, especially for designers and engineers who want to test and compare various plastics up for consideration. It is much cheaper than using complex or aluminum tooling, and the results can be used to identify multiple flaws in a design before the final mold goes into production. In addition, carefully analyzing injection mold costs at the prototype stage allows for more cost-effective adjustments and optimizations, ultimately saving time and money in the long run.
It’s important to remember that the results from prototype injection molds differ significantly from those from a production mold. The information gathered on dimensional issues, high cavitation fill balancing, warp, sink, splay, and flow is beneficial for identifying and correcting design problems before taking the project to the next level of production tooling.
The bottom line is that a good quality, fast turnaround, cost-efficient prototype company is worth the investment. This type of service is invaluable and allows you to save thousands in costly mistakes and delays. The lessons learned in the prototype phase can significantly accelerate your product development time.
