Typically, prototyping is the phase that comes after an initial design but before manufacturing and production. It is an important step in the process of product development and bringing a design to life. Prototyping is often used in product design and development, proof of concept, testing, validation, and much more. Why you ask? It comes down to the old saying “Better safe than sorry”. Prototyping is an excellent way to visualize and feel a theoretical design, usually put together by design engineers or CAD designers. It is almost always or should be at least, a requirement on the road to bringing a design to life.

Often, the manufacturability of the design in question needs to be justified before committing to manufacturing. After all, a digital CAD concept is a seemingly perfect thing of perfect geometry. On the computer, it can exist as is but when it comes to bringing that concept to the real world, there are dozens of obstacles that might clash with that seemingly perfect design. That is the heart of engineering, making the imaginary real. If a mistake were made in the initial design or perhaps the part is not even manufacturable, and the part went straight to manufacturing, the resulting parts could all be rejected if they were able to be made at all. This process of guessing and shooting can be astronomically expensive depending on what type of manufacturing is being used. If tooling, drawings, and materials were collected to produce these incorrect parts, it is all at the cost to the company.

Thus, instead of guessing and shooting a concept design, we want to make an educated guess and check. A clear design intent must be established and there must be confidence that the part is manufacturable. The least amount of revisions required to support the manufacturability of a part, the better. However, iterative processes are a good thing. So, what if many revisions could be executed in a short amount of time? As part of turning the prototyping phase over quickly, rapid prototyping is often used. This is so commonly used in prototyping for its low setup costs, low material waste, and fast processing time. Rapid prototypes are a sure sign way to get parts fast and validate their function whether that be physically or aesthetically.

One way of prototyping a part is by using injection molding. Having CNC capability allows for a faster turnaround time for tooling. Often for prototyping and injection molding, aluminum tooling is created because it can be machined much faster and easier. However, aluminum tooling does not last as long as steel tooling. In either case, using injection molding to prototype a part can give great insight into how to optimize a design for high-volume production with this manufacturing process. Nevertheless, before purchasing tooling, whether it be aluminum or steel, it is good practice to still prototype a part with a cheaper manufacturing method. Producing this tooling and setting it up in such a short time is often costly in comparison to 3D printing or CNC.

Additive manufacturing is an excellent way to bring a theoretical CAD design to life. A multitude of materials are available, and parts can be created without the need for tooling. As a result, quality prototypes can be produced the same day as the placed order, unlike the use of injection molding. The main costs associated with additive manufacturing are those that come from the use of batches. A 3D printer is only capable of producing parts in batches as it is restricted by its printing platform. It would be most beneficial to pack that platform with as many parts as possible if one is to get the most bang for their buck with additive manufacturing.

Advancements in CNC technology and subtractive manufacturing allow for quality parts to be produced quickly, and out of a variety of materials and material types. With subtractive manufacturing, parts can be created the same day as the order in whatever quantities are needed, much like additive manufacturing. Where injection molding and additive manufacturing produce parts in batches, this is not a requirement for subtractive manufacturing. So, the main costs associated with utilizing subtractive manufacturing for prototyping are the cost of setup and the bulk of the material used to shape the part.

Choosing a manufacturing method for prototyping will depend on a lot of things. The material being used, how quickly the parts are required for testing or validation, and the amount of money one is willing to spend on this process are all considerations.

A company will usually want to get through the prototyping phase as quickly as possible, but without sacrificing that much-needed validation. It can take many attempts before a design is just right. It can be difficult to have this type of capability in-house so utilizing prototype companies that specialize in such services is key. Investing in product design companies, engineering design services, and complete prototyping services is a great way to ensure that a theoretical design is first optimized for a selected manufacturing method and then that the design is produced as efficiently and accurately as possible compared to what the final product is expected to be.

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