Prototype Manufacturing

During the design process of the part and before the manufacturing of the final part (production of simple parts or assemblies, parts from molds), the manufacturing of a prototype is more than often needed in two occasions. The first occasion is when our customers need to evaluate the manufacturing process (First Article Inspection in simple parts or assemblies), and the second one is when our customers need to verify that the part designed to be produced by a mold, fully covers his/hers demands and needs.

Regarding First Article Inspection, the manufacturing process is verified and validated, by the manufacturing of a sample or a pre-series in order to avoid issues during the production process in large quantities.

The method for the manufacturing of the prototype followed in this situation is the same as the one that will be used for the manufacturing of the production series.

Regarding the manufacturing of a prototype before the mold/tool is manufactured, the final part produced by the mold/tool is manufactured in order for the customer to evaluate if the part designed will fully cover his demands and needs. In this way future modifications of the mold/tool, which will increase the final cost, or delay the production can be avoided. The method of manufacturing of the part is decided taking into account the part’s geometry, complexity and cost. Possible manufacturing methods could be plastic 3D printing, machining or a combination of both.