When companies need new parts for products, or new products overall, they almost always invest in prototyping services. Prototyping services, also known as rapid prototyping services, consist of designers and engineers creating an early sample or model of a part or product that needs to be built. This is also a process that involves testing through multiple stages. When a company invests in the best prototyping services for product development, the new design created by internal teams is evaluated by the prototypes, and changes are often made to improve the functionality, user experience, and production cost of the item. This article is intended to help brands and companies in need of rapid prototyping services learn what to look for to ensure they get the best prototyping services possible.
The Best Prototyping Services are Performed by Providers that can use a Number of Techniques
The best prototyping services are never fettered by a single technique. Instead, rapid prototyping services should be conducted, under one roof, by teams that can create models using a variety of methods. When looking at prototyping companies, the prototyping services they offer should include the following methods: 3D printing, CNC milling machine technology and additive layer manufacturing. In many cases, a single prototype will consist of several parts, and each part can require an individual method. If the company conducting your prototyping services doesn’t offer these primary three, then you run the grave risk of having to have a second prototyper in a different location to create the part. This can slow down production time, elevate cost, and create more room for human error.
Invest in Prototyping Services that Practice Flawless Communication
It is critical to have prototyping services run by a team that communicates regularly, and clearly. There should be a main point of contact that communicated with your team. This is usually a supervisor or project manager. You should be getting regular updates and reports with ETAs, and ongoing reports that revolve around budgetary status. Finally, if the team discovers opportunities to change the design to make improvements, these changes should be presented to your team along with target projections so that, together, you can all make the right decision to ensure your product gets to market quickly, and to help guarantee that it will rival competitor models. The prototyping company should also be flexible in meetings; they should grant you in-person visits whenever you like, as well as multiple digital meetings. They should also have an open source system for sharing files, including progress reports so that your team can stay up to date in real time.
Prototyping Services Should be Performed Under a Single Roof
Some prototyping companies outsource certain tasks. Make sure your prototyping services are all performed by the same team, at the same facilities. When prototypes are engineered at multiple sites the production time is longer, and costs go up. It is also easy for specifications to get lost in translation, and as a result an inferior product is produced. When prototyping services are handled by the same team at the same location, there is tighter collaboration, better communication, and less room for error.
