Rapid prototyping

Match the prototype to the question

Every prototype should answer a specific question, and different questions need different prototypes. Does it fit in the hand? A rough FDM print answers that in a day. Do these two parts click together? That needs tolerances set carefully and a material with the right flex. What will it look like on the shelf? That needs a smooth, painted appearance model.

We ask what you are testing before choosing the process. Printing a high-detail painted model to test a fit wastes money and time; printing a rough part to show investors undersells the product. Each prototype comes with a note of what it can tell you and what it cannot.

• Fit and size: FDM printing, quick and cheap
• Fine detail and small parts: resin printing
• Appearance: sanded, primed and painted finish
• Function under load: often needs the final material, not a print

Plan for more than one round

The first prototype almost always reveals something. A clip is too stiff. A wall is thinner than it felt on screen. A button sits where a thumb does not naturally fall. That is the point of prototyping, and a plan that assumes one print will be final is a plan for disappointment.

The larger packages include revision rounds: you test the part, send feedback, we update the model and print again. Printed parts differ from final moulded parts in strength and surface, so we also flag which conclusions from a printed prototype will hold in production and which will need checking again with the real material.