Sheet Metal Prototyping Services

What is sheet metal prototyping?

Sheet metal prototyping is the creation of a prototype using sheet metal. It gives you the ability to test a design concept, iron out flaws at an early stage and create a working model of what will eventually be a functional component and even a mass market product.

By manufacturing an initial sample (or two), you can test, learn and eventually replicate in a controlled manner without blowing the budget.

What are the benefits of prototyping?

In large-scale manufacturing, prototyping is necessary because it provides a real-life test of a theoretical product’s design and its functions. The prototype can be realised as a single component or small batch of components. By putting the prototype through its paces, we can identify its strengths and weaknesses and the latter can be addressed before full production commences.

Some customers find the investment of a single unit off-putting but we can’t recommend it highly enough. Bringing a product to market is complex and if the product itself is fundamentally flawed, you are highly likely to fail in the long run. Committing to a product without first testing a prototype could mean you end up with an entire batch of faulty units.

How we work

We develop prototypes in partnership with our customers. By establishing early on what they’re hoping to achieve, we can suggest alternative manufacturing techniques to improve build quality, deliver time savings and ultimately provide a reduction in price.

What’s involved in the prototyping process?

Initial consultation and brief

This is an important part of the process because it’s where you get to say everything you need to say about your new product. We’ll sit down with all relevant team members and discuss every aspect of the project. These might include the product’s intended use (how, who, when and why) and potential areas of concern. We’ll also want to learn about other project considerations such as timescales and budget.

Then we produce a written brief capturing all that’s been discussed on paper. We can’t stress enough how important it is that you share everything at this stage, even if it seems of no consequence. It could be crucial!

Once you’ve read the brief and are happy it’s accurate, we ask you to approve it so we can move on to the next stage.

Production of detailed CAD drawings

CAD stands for computer aided design. In the good old days, pre-computers, draughtsman would have to produce technical drawings for you to approve and for us to work from. This was a time consuming and costly process, especially if changes were required. Now, with the aid of CAD software, we have the technology to speed up this process and make it more accurate than ever. It’s also much easier and quicker than it used to be to change something on the fly as the computer does most of the hard work.

From your brief, our CAD technicians create a 3D model of your prototype. It’s like a virtual tour of a product. Engineers and other team members can visualise the product in action and start to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses.

Our CAD technicians do this day in, day out, and therefore are skilled at spotting potential problems which the team may otherwise not have noticed.