7 Tips to Help You Reduce Rapid Prototyping Costs and Lead Time

Rapid prototyping allows manufacturers to prototype ideas quickly and create products that are identical in design. This technology also guides products through various stages of validation before they are ready for mass production. We will share ten tips to help you cut costs and reduce the time it takes you to make prototypes.

1. Prototype in-House

You need to first ask many questions if you are interested in investing in prototyping. The first question is whether to purchase equipment to make your own prototypes or hire a professional to do them.

Most companies will find it best to purchase the necessary prototyping tools for smaller projects. It’s better to outsource more significant tasks. This is also true for complex or non-standard parts.

2. Choose the right technology

Consider your needs before you decide on the suitable prototyping material or equipment. Are you using the models for demonstration or testing?

You can choose the right technology for you by considering your requirements. If you only require basic models, then you should choose equipment that offers speed, better finishing, and attention to detail.

3. Automated Post-Processing

Post-processing is often overlooked. It is important to remember that post-processing will take a lot of your time. Some technologies do not require much post-processing. 3D-printed components require some post-processing. This stage can be automated to save time and money.

4. Multiple prints are needed to assemble large parts.

3D printing large parts can be costly. This is why it is necessary for companies to outsource such projects. These projects are challenging to print on large industrial printers.

Because assemblies are made up of different building blocks, it is a great way to create large objects. You can also add additional features to your designs to allow for printing alignments.

5. Make Hollow Parts

Most 3D printers can print dense parts. You can make hollow prototypes if you are unable to print functional aspects of a specific length. This will save you a lot of time and material.

6. Set the Layer Height

You can reduce the printing time by adjusting the layer height. SLA systems can make the difference in how components are printed, for example, with 50 and 100-micron layers. It can save you a lot of time.

7. Optimize Your Schedule

You can improve your printing schedule by trying a few methods. Printing 24/7 is possible while still achieving maximum throughput. Below are some top practices you can use.

Mix and match parts to create a single build
Printing shorter runs may be an option before sunset
To increase throughput and reduce the workload, you can use more than one printer
The dashboard can be used to receive alerts after you finish a print