What is Rapid Prototyping?
Prototyping is the process of physically building a model or draft of an idea. As engineers, prototyping is a crucial step in the product development process whereby a solid model comes to life, and we can touch, see, and interact with it.
Historically, traditional prototyping has been a lengthy and expensive process, but modern, rapid prototyping allows ideas to take shape in a matter of days. CNC machining is an excellent choice for rapid prototyping.
Rapid prototyping is a product development method that utilizes turnkey manufacturing technologies to quickly produce multiple iterations of a component for testing and evaluation. In other words, it is a method of making parts as quickly as possible for hands-on reviews.
Speed and affordability are the key principles of rapid prototyping and allow multiple designs of a prototype to be manufactured at once, or one prototype to be revised and re-made in quick succession. These prototypes provide critical information that helps engineers make design decisions before moving to higher fidelity models for functional testing and production.
Rapid prototyping services can be used to test a full range of designs and materials since the usual financial and time risk is removed from the equation. This mitigates the risk that would occur from moving a project forward without enough information.
why chooes Rapid Prototyping?
The product development process is a complex business. But with the help of prototypes, you can definitely get better results. We will help you in building the best prototype of your plan.
Because innovation and product life cycles are getting shorter, the product development process needs to be more efficient, and product launching has to go faster. With fast iteration times, rapid prototyping enables faster product development cycles. Both engineers and designers can evaluate their own designs very well.
What are the different types of rapid prototyping service?
Any physical model can be a prototype. The difference is the degree to which it reflects the expected finished part.
Very simple models can be made from paper, plastic, play-doh, foam, balsa, or other common household materials. These are examples of very low-fidelity prototypes, but they do have the advantage of being easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
These types of rapid prototyping service may not run well or for long periods of time, so they are primarily used to get a visual idea of the design and compare it to other parts at scale.
CNC Rapid Prototyping Processes
CNC machining has emerged as a good choice for rapid prototyping, especially precision prototype machining, due to the rising popularity of digital manufacturing. Here are some common processes for rapid prototyping with CNC machining:
- CNC milling for the most complex geometries and quick material removal.
- CNC turning for cylindrical parts like shafts or pins.
- Electrical discharge machining (EDM) for delicate, complex geometries.
CNC rapid prototype machining is optimal when you need an engineering or production prototype that looks, feels, and functions as the finished product. And, with digital manufacturing infrastructure like ALLIED, you can get instant quotes for CNC machined prototypes with turnaround times quickly.
Advantages of rapid prototyping service
Through rapid prototyping to verify the feasibility and performance of design solutions, identify problems in a timely manner, make adjustments and improvements in advance, and avoid wasting costs and time in large-scale production
Rapid Prototyping can promptly identify design and manufacturing issues, avoiding quality issues in large-scale production.
Create multiple versions with different colors, surface textures and finishes
Allied have considerable experience in plastic prototypes and metal prototypes.