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What is Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping technology is an important part of modern advanced manufacturing technology. Lori's rapid prototyping can directly, quickly and accurately manufacture new product design concepts into physical samples

Rapid prototyping (RP) technology, developed in the 1990s, has become an essential tool for manufacturing companies in new product development. This advanced manufacturing technology allows designers to quickly, directly, and accurately transform concepts into functional models or finished products. This capability enables rapid evaluation and modification of product designs while simultaneously testing product functions, significantly reducing development cycles.

Moreover, rapid prototyping lowers the risks and costs associated with mold creation and new product development. By promptly identifying and correcting design errors, it avoids the high costs of subsequent process modifications, thereby greatly improving the success rate of new product production.

Among rapid prototyping methods, 3D printing is particularly favored for its cost-effectiveness and efficiency. With 3D printing, prototyping costs typically range from $5 to $50, and the production cycle is extremely short, often just 1 to 3 business days. In addition to 3D printing, other methods such as CNC rapid prototyping, rapid injection molding prototyping, and sheet metal fabrication prototyping can also be employed for rapid prototyping service.

Different Types of Rapid Prototyping

Lori’s technologies like 3D printing, CNC machining, vacuum casting,sheet metal fabrication and injection molding enable the creation of rapid prototypes, providing designers with valuable feedback. These prototypes help optimize the design, delivering value that far exceeds their cost.

3D Printing Prototyping

3D printing for prototypes is the most commonly used process due to its ability to create parts with complex shapes and structures in a short amount of time. It produces visually appealing models at a relatively low cost. However, it also has some limitations. The range of materials available for 3d printed prototypes is limited, making it unsuitable for producing high-strength functional parts. Additionally, due to the resolution of 3D printing, achieving strict tolerances is challenging, which can result in part assemblies that are not exactly the same as the final product.

3D printing prototyping service is ideal for fast creating early prototypes during the development of new products to check shape and size. It is also suitable for small batch production, typically between 1 to 5 units. Producing more than this number can become expensive.

Lori offer different kinds of 3d printing technologies for rapid prototyping, from very low cost and extremely fast technologies to ones that are better suited for functional testing. Our rapid 3D printing prototyping service including SLS rapid prototyping service, SLA rapid prototyping service, FDM rapid prototyping service, and more. Learn more please contact us.

CNC Prototyping

CNC prototyping machining is a manufacturing process used to make a CNC prototype of a product. It typically uses tools such as computer-aided design (CAD) software and computer numerical control machine tools (CNC) to precisely cut and process materials to create a model that resembles the final product. These CNC prototypes can be used to test product design and performance and make necessary modifications and improvements. Rapid CNC Prototyping is widely used in industries such as rapid manufacturing, automotive, medical devices, aerospace, and consumer goods.

The advantage of CNC prototype service is its ability to produce a variety of precision parts from various materials with strict tolerances. CNC prototype machining can be used to create samples and conduct various tests before formal production. However, the lead time for CNC prototypes is relatively long, usually taking 4-10 days, and the costs are high. Rapid CNC prototyping is suitable for the middle stages of new product development, particularly for creating production models. It is ideal for producing more than 3 prototypes.

Sheet Metal Prototype

Sheet metal processing prototypes are ideal for evaluating the final metal material during the product development process. The primary advantage is that it is cost-effective and has a moderate manufacturing time, typically 5-10 days. However, a limitation of rapid sheet metal machining is the restricted material selection, generally limited to metals. Aluminum 5052 is the most common material used for these prototypes. Additionally, Lori offers a variety of other alloys, including steel, iron, and stainless steel.

Rapid Injection Molding Prototyping

Prototype injection molding, also known as rapid injection molding, is an efficient process that uses the rapid prototyping tooling for molding method to produce injection molding parts faster than standard mold times. This acceleration is achieved by using aluminum tools, eliminating certain complex elements, or simplifying the mold and manufacturing process. Due to the nature of this rapid tool, manufacturing costs are also low, making it suitable for rapid prototyping project budgets.
Rapid injection molding is ideal for model manufacturing during development or for pre-production samples, which ensures consistent product quality and accuracy.

Advantages of Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology is an advanced process with multiple advantages, which can achieve many advantages such as high precision, fast speed, low cost and high design freedom, providing enterprises with more efficient, faster and lower cost manufacturing solutions, and fully demonstrating the great potential of advanced technology in manufacturing.

01

High precision

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology adopts computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing technology, which can realize the precise manufacturing of complex parts and can achieve very high accuracy requirements, which is more accurate than traditional manual manufacturing methods.
02

High design freedom

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology has good design freedom, can produce a variety of shapes, sizes, materials, can achieve personalized design, customized production, so that products more in line with customer needs.
03

Widely used

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology has been widely used in automotive, aerospace, medical equipment and other fields, not only can manufacture various parts and accessories, but also can be used to manufacture models, prototypes, molds, and manufacture footwear, jewelry, crafts and other consumer goods.

CNC machining power battery box prototype

04

Fast speed

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology can achieve a fast and efficient manufacturing process, which can greatly shorten the production cycle and improve the production efficiency and market competitiveness of enterprises.
05

Low cost

Rapid prototyping manufacturing technology can improve production efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs, saving the expenditure of manpower and capital. In addition, because high-precision products can be manufactured, the cost of post-repair and rework can be avoided, making the manufacturing cost cheaper.
06

Communicate effectively

Solid models allow designers to share their concepts with clients, colleagues, and partners, conveying ideas in ways that cannot be achieved by simply visualizing the design on a computer. Rapid prototyping helps obtain clear, actionable consumer feedback, which allows designers to better understand user needs and improve and refine their designs

Lori's Rapid Prototyping Capabilities

3D Printing Prototyping

Suitable for the initial stage of product development, this method is especially effective for printing structurally complex parts. It is widely used and cost-effective.

CNC Rapid Prototyping

It is suitable for the middle stage of product development and compensates for the limitations of 3D printing in terms of accuracy and strength.

Injection Molding Rapid Prototyping

It is especially suitable for high-fidelity models in the late stages of product development.

Sheet Metal Prototyping

Suitable for the final material stage of product development, this process is limited to choosing only metal materials.

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