During the process of design, there will likely be points where you’ll need to go back and think again, and possibly need a plan B (or C, or D…). It can be frustrating and costly to discover that changes need to be made – this is where product prototyping comes in.
Product prototyping is the process of creating a ‘prototype’ of your design. You will be able to see it and hold it in your hands, and most importantly, see how it really works. Being able to trial your product ‘in the real’ can help you prevent expensive mistakes (and corrections) later on, and give you a real insight into how your product will function.
Additionally, an accurate prototype gives you the power to carry out market trials and get feedback at a much earlier stage, and without shelling out before discovering you need to make changes.
Traditionally product prototyping could be very expensive with investment in expensive CAD design software and the creation of injection moulds and usually a manufacturer on board to make the prototype for you. This could typically run to thousands of euro worth of costs.
The advent (and accessibility) of 3D printing has made it possible, and affordable, for more designers to create beautiful, accurate prototypes. Rather than resorting to more time consuming
and expensive prototype builds, 3D printing can allow you to hold your design in your hands in just a few hours.
At TechCreate, we use the Ultimaker 3D printer to bring your designs to life. Here, we can assist entrepreneurs to create prototypes to help push their product forwards towards the market. You have the choice of becoming a member and using our equipment and software yourself, or if you prefer we can do it for you to save you times. Either way you will be able to get a prototype for a lot less than it would have traditionally cost you.
It is not just small businesses who use the Ultimaker 2 for prototyping, Siemens AG a large multinational uses the Ultimaker 2 for prototyping engineering components. In doing so they have been able to reduce their time from model stage to final component to about 1-2 weeks instead of the previous 12-16 weeks. This saves them a huge amount of time. To learn more about Siemens AG prototyping with the Ultimaker 2 click here.
If you are thinking about product prototyping then please call in. We can cut costs for you even further by letting you use our equipment rather than having to purchase your own.