Sheet Metal Rapid Prototyping for Industrial Design
X Rapid Technologies provides the best industrial design prototyping services. With sheet metal and other rapid prototyping ways, you can witness your idea turn real.
Why do Industries use sheet metal rapid prototyping?
Sheet metal Rapid prototyping is a popular method of developing industrial design prototyping. Here at X Rapid Technologies, we offer faster and cheaper sheet metal rapid prototyping solutions for various components.
Industrial design prototyping is a little bit different from normal product prototyping for commercial uses. Product design is the ultimate key to Industrial design prototyping. Most industry manufacturers use sheet metal Rapid prototyping for their industrial design. It has gained huge popularity over the years and is the best alternative for CNC machining.
What is sheet metal rapid prototyping?
Sheet metal Rapid prototyping is the process of forming metals and turning them into desired shape or structure using different techniques such as assembling, folding, punching, bending, and cutting. It is a widely used method in industrial design prototyping.
Sheet metal Rapid prototyping is mostly used in the fabrication process to identify any malfunctions or defects of metal components.
Industries like automotive, construction, aerospace, electronics, healthcare, appliances, etc., use this method for creating different metal components.
It is hardly a rough sketch or a replica model of the final product before manufacturing it at the mass level. Industrial design prototyping uses various methods for sheet metal Rapid prototyping, such as 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal forming, and 3 ERP, etc. It is much more convenient than other Rapid prototyping methods. It's also cheaper and less time-consuming and can be applied to end-use production.
What materials can be used in sheet metal rapid prototyping?
Sheet metal Rapid prototyping used in industrial design prototyping is a little bit different. Industrial design prototyping depends on its application and the roles of the product. For industrial design prototyping, manufacturers can use different metals for different products. There are many cheap metal options available in the market that can be used for sheet metal rapid prototyping. These are as follows:
- Stainless steel
- Cold-rolled steel
- Aluminum
- Brass (CDA 260)
- Copper (C101; C110)
- Galvannealed steel
- Galvanized steel
Why do Industries use sheet metal rapid prototyping?
In manufacturing companies, industrial design prototyping is a necessary part Before any products get finalized for mass manufacturing. This is where sheet metal rapid prototyping comes in. Prototypes are the master model of your product; they include all the final designs and the functions of your product. It's very important to check your final product whether there are any functional errors or not. Sheet metal rapid prototyping helps you build an accurate master model for testing. With the help of it, you can test the capability of your final design. Since sheet metal rapid prototyping can create detailed and accurate replicas of your final product, it's a better option for any industrial design prototyping than other traditional Rapid prototyping methods. Here are some of the core advantages of using sheet metal Rapid prototyping in industrial design prototyping:
- Able to create an accurate and detailed replica model for testing its design and performance.
- It helps to increase the commercial value of your product.
- It reduces risks that usually come in the final production stage.
- It is less expensive and less time-consuming.
Where to get the best industrial design prototyping?
X Rapid technologies are the company that provides you with the best industrial design prototyping for any industrial project. The MOQ is not limited to sheet metal rapid prototyping. We offer customization for your final industrial design prototyping. Here at X Rapid Technologies, you get the highest quality prototype models via sheet metal rapid prototyping. Visit our website for more service details.
Industrial design is a field in which product design is the core, and art and technology are unified. Rapid prototyping is a very important part of product design and a process to repeatedly test, demonstrate and improve the rationality of ideas. In the past hundred years of industrial design development, prototyping has been constantly innovating along with technology development. While prototyping is performed not only with the technology from the Bauhaus era, but also with other industrial design prototyping technologies such as CNC machining and 3D printing (an additive manufacturing method of rapid prototyping).
Rapid prototyping produces parts within a short time. 3D printing can even make an object even within several hours. In this case, industrial design prototyping expedites the process before the new products go into the market. The vital role prototyping plays in industrial design is to verify the idea of appearance, structure, and functions. Rapid prototyping helps designers improve the design and gather customer feedback. However, how to do prototyping right and fast is a question. The most important thing is to choose the optimal machining methods, materials, and surface finishing. There are two top-drawer tips for you.
1. The choice of materials decides the machining methods in most cases.
Different rapid prototyping processes use distinct materials. However, I would like to remind you that the materials used for rapid prototyping are not the same as mass production. They can only be similar to the materials of end-use products.
If you are designing a plastic product, consider CNC machining, vacuum casting, and 3D printing. When the quantity is large, vacuum casting is the best way because it can replicate 10-20 parts via one silicone mold. And only vacuum casting can produce soft rubber parts. The hardness is usually above Shore A 40. The hardness range is between Shore A 40 to 90. If the quantity is larger, you can consider low-volume production methods such as rapid tooling and reaction injection molding (RIM). The latter is more suitable for large-sized parts like automotive and medical device components.
If you want to make metal prototypes, choose from CNC machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal fabrication. Rapid prototyping of metal parts via 3D printing is relatively expensive and can be very costly in some situations due to the high cost of some metal powders. When the part thickness is less than 6mm, sheet metal fabrication rapid prototyping is a better option since it is more cost-efficient than CNC machining. Parts produced by sheet metal rapid prototyping are also of uniform thickness.
2. Components manufactured by different prototyping methods suit different surface finishing.
Materials are very vital for structural and functional parts. While surface treatment matters when it comes to prototypes for appearance testing purposes. Parts made by 3D printing have a relatively rough surface so the surface treatments available are limited. The reason is that 3D printing, an additive manufacturing way to do rapid prototyping, prints parts layer by layer, and there is a laminated texture. The additive manufacturing way of rapid prototyping avoids the waste of raw material powders but results in a relatively rough surface. The available finishing is rarely sanding, sandblasting, laser etching, polishing, painting, and chrome plating.
Plastic and metal parts can also suit diverse finishing. Sometimes, you also need to decide on the most suitable material. For example, metallic paint can only be used on metal parts and some plastics cannot be painted. And plastic materials like POM and PP cannot be painted.
Improper prototyping methods would waste money and time. Nevertheless, if you still have no idea how to decide on the proper machining ways, a professional prototyping company like X Rapid Technologies can provide you with the best industrial design prototyping solution per your application. Get in touch today to kickstart your project!
