3D PRINTING FOR RAPID PROTOTYPING

Bring Products to Market Faster by 3D Printing Prototypes In House

Rapid prototyping with affordable in-house 3D printers empowers you to 3D print prototypes within a day and carry out multiple iterations of design, size, shape, or assembly based on results of real-life testing and analysis, helping you to bring better products to market faster. Turn your ideas into realistic proofs of concept, advance these concepts to high-fidelity prototypes that look and work like final products, and guide products through a series of validation stages toward mass production.

Concept Exploration

Elevate initial ideas with low-risk concept models, proof-of-concept (POC) prototypes, and looks-like prototypes. 3D printing empowers you to go from CAD to physical object in no time, and rapidly develop, evaluate, and iterate a range of designs in-house.

Watch the video: How Ford Developed the New Explorer Using Formlabs SLA and SLS 3D Printers

See Also

3d printed bike part prototypes
Webinar

Rapid Prototyping: Choosing the Right Process and Materials

3D Printed Parts
Case Study: Works-Like Prototypes

How Ford Developed the New Explorer Using Formlabs SLA and SLS 3D Printers

3D Printed shovel prototype
Case Study: Looks-Like Prototypes

How Black Diamond Reduced Costs by 84% With Rapid Prototyping on the Form 3L

3d printed watch prototype
Case Study: Looks-Like Prototypes

Producing High-Precision Prototypes for Mechanical Watches Using 3D Printing

Functional Prototyping

Produce functional prototypes with material properties closely matching common injection-molded plastics to test concepts, communicate requirements, and validate designs for manufacturability. Create small-batch runs or one-off custom solutions for comprehensive field and in-house testing before investing in expensive tooling for production.

Watch the video: How a 3D Printing Station Supports Hundreds of Engineers at the AMRC

See Also

rapid prototyping robot hands
White Paper

Guide to Rapid Prototyping for Product Development

plaato homebrewing prototype
Case Study: Works-Like Prototypes

Prototyping an Optically Clear Airlock for Homebrewing With 3D Printing

lush bath bomb 3D printed rapid prototype mold
Case Study: Works-Like Prototypes

How Lush Cosmetics Take Ideas From Concept to Reality in Under 24 Hours with 3D Printing

prototype snowboard binding
Case Study: Works-Like Prototypes

Rome Snowboards Accelerates Product Development With SLS 3D Printing

Product Validation

Test tolerances with the actual manufacturing process in mind and conduct comprehensive in-house and field testing before moving into mass production. Combine 3D printed rapid tooling with traditional manufacturing processes like injection molding, thermoforming, or silicone molding. Create custom test jigs and fixtures to simplify functional testing and certification by gathering consistent data.

Watch the video: Inside Google ATAP: Bridging Pre-Production Challenges With 3D Printing

See Also

rapid tooling for injection molding
White Paper

Guide to Rapid Tooling

3D printed injection mold
Case Study: Pilot Production

How a Contract Manufacturer Uses 3D Printed Molds for Low-Volume Production

dorman products automotive rapid prototypes
Case Study: Product Validation

3D Printing Helps Dorman Keep Pace with Automotive OEMs

thermoforming mold
Case Study: Works-Like Prototypes

A Product Development Company Using 3D Printing To Do It All

Cut Your Prototyping Cycle to 24 hours

Never again wait weeks for prototypes to arrive from a service provider. With in-house 3D printing, you can create rapid prototypes within a day, run tests, tweak your design, and print again.

Design
Step 1

Design

Design your object in CAD during work hours.
3D Print
Step 2

3D Print

3D print the prototype parts overnight.
Test
Step 3

Test

Clean, measure, test, create assemblies, and collect feedback on your design in the morning.
Iterate
Step 4

Iterate

Tweak your design and repeat the process.
speaker prototype
Speaker Housing Prototype

16.5 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm
6.5 x 5.3 x 5.3 in

A Full Suite of 3D Printers For Rapid Prototyping

Turn ideas into high-fidelity 3D printed rapid prototypes with Formlabs' SLA and SLS 3D printers for prototyping.

High-Performance Materials for Rapid Prototyping

Formlabs has an extensive library of proprietary 3D printing materials suitable for even the most demanding applications. 

3D Printed helmet prototype
HELMET PROTOTYPE
Draft Resin
Concept models
Rapid design iterations
Printing large parts fast
Gear Assembly prototype
Gear Assembly
Tough and Durable Resins
Housings, enclosures, and connectors
Wear-and-tear prototypes
Jigs and fixtures
3D printed intake manifold in Nylon 11 CF powder on the Fuse 1+ 30W SLS printer
Intake manifold
SLS Powders
High performance prototyping
Beta test units
Sturdy, long-lasting prototypes
diving mask prototype
Diving Mask
Flexible and Elastic Resins
Flexible, soft-touch prototypes
Handles, grips, and compliant parts
Consumer goods prototyping
3D printed prototype assembly for robotics