﻿Prototyping is a crucial part of the product development process, but traditionally,
it has been a bottleneck due to the high costs and long lead times.
Producing prototypes that look and work like the final product historically requires
the same traditional manufacturing processes used to create the final part,
but these methods require costly tooling and a lengthy setup.
With rapid prototyping tools such as Formlabs’ 3D printers, anyone can turn ideas into realistic proofs of concept,
and advance these concepts to high-fidelity prototypes that actually look and work like final products.
Best of all, 3D printed prototypes are cost-effective, enabling teams to create dozens of affordable
prototypes with a quick turnaround. In this video, we'll walk you through
the fundamentals of rapid prototyping, its applications, and how 3D printing
can help you develop prototypes quickly and cost-effectively.
What is rapid prototyping?
Rapid prototyping is the group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a physical part
from a three-dimensional design. With rapid prototyping, engineers and designers
can create a better final product, iterating several times between digital designs
and physical prototypes with a quick and cost-effective workflow.
Here’s an example of a rapid prototyping workflow with 3D printing:
A typical model takes a 24-hour design cycle:
First, design your object in CAD during work hours.
Next, 3D print the prototype parts overnight.
In the morning, clean, measure, test, create assemblies, and collect feedback on your design.
Then, tweak your design and repeat the process.
Rapid prototyping applications include:
Proof-of-concept models, to help product designers validate ideas
Looks-like prototypes, to evaluate the design
Works-like prototypes, to accurately represent the finished product and validate the functionality
And engineering prototypes and pre-production validation parts, to simulate the final product
and validate manufacturability.
Rapid prototyping allows designers to go beyond virtual visualization,
making it faster and easier to understand the look and feel of the design, and compare concepts side by side.
Black Diamond, maker of outdoor sports and mountaineering equipment, has incorporated 3D printing
into their design workflow for years. Recently, their team brought full-size prototyping in-house
with a large format SLA 3D printer, the Form 3L,
and they managed to cut prototyping costs by up to 85% and lead time from a week to one day.
Rapid prototyping also allows engineers to thoroughly validate prototypes,
reducing the risks of usability and manufacturability issues before moving into production.
Smart brewing equipment manufacturer PLAATO developed an optically clear airlock
for real-time monitoring of beer during fermentation.
Creating 6 iterations per day, PLAATO had done hundreds of different prototypes in total.
That was only feasible as they had a Formlabs 3D printer in-house.
By eliminating outsourcing, in-house rapid prototyping improves communication with peers and clients,
quickly turning actionable user feedback into new iterations.
This is essential for creators to produce market-leading products.
3D printing for rapid prototyping
SLA and SLS are two of the most popular 3D printing solutions for rapid prototyping.
Stereolithography or SLA 3D printers use a laser to cure liquid resin into hardened plastic parts
with high resolution and accuracy, clear details, and smooth surface finish.
SLA is a great option for highly detailed prototypes requiring tight tolerances and smooth surfaces,
such as concept models and functional parts.
SLA printing also offers the widest range of materials.
Use Draft Resin to print early concept models faster than with any other process,
standard resins for highly detailed or transparent models,
and engineering resins for tough, durable, heat-resistant, flexible, or extremely stiff functional prototypes.
SLS 3D printers use a high-powered laser to fuse small particles of polymer powder.
The unfused powder supports the part during printing and eliminates the need
for dedicated support structures.
This makes SLS ideal for complex geometries, including interior features, undercuts, thin walls, and negative features.
Parts produced with SLS printing have excellent mechanical characteristics, with strength resembling
that of injection-molded parts.
The combination of low cost per part, high productivity, and established materials
make SLS a popular choice among engineers for functional prototyping.
Bring your products to the next level with in-house 3D printing
powered by Formlabs.