Stratasys Direct Manufacturing has helped thousands of customers bring their concepts to market successfully over the last 22 years. Our prototypes have allowed customers to test the functionality and aesthetics of their products in the real world, and to demonstrate the viability of their products to target audiences. Once a prototype has been successfully used for these purposes our customers can take their products to the next level: mass production using additive manufacturing or switching to injection molding.
Bringing a concept to market is much easier than it looks! If you have a 3D CAD model of your design, you’re already halfway there. Of course, we can’t tell you the secret to becoming a star designer or engineer—and we know you already are—but we can let you in on these steps that have helped hundreds of designers and engineers reach mass production and product success.
Having a product concept that somehow transforms the current market you’re targeting is definitely a bonus, but a simple, well-designed concept works well too. Many of our clients come to us with ideas that would make their jobs (and lives) easier. We know that all of you have brilliant ideas, and we can’t wait to hear all about them!
After you have fully developed your genius idea, you’ll need to create a 3D CAD file of the design.
There are many software programs out there to aid in your 3D CAD modeling. Choosing a CAD program to design with will be largely dependent on what your concept requires.
Once your design is finalized, the next step is to submit it to Stratasys Direct Manufacturing for prototyping.
You can’t expect to successfully develop a concept in CAD—no matter how wonderful—and go straight into production. Renderings of an idea that look great on paper or in the virtual realm have no true bearing on the physical realm until they become physical. To ensure the most success with your concept you’ll need prototyping, whether you are prototyping for functionality, form and fit, to check design aesthetics or all of the above.
Technologies frequently used for concept models and design evaluations include PolyJet, Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). With lead times of as little as 24 hours, additive manufacturing technologies are a quick and effective way to assess and create the best designs for your project at hand.
We’ve heard innumerable times from clients that our prototypes or pre-production parts, brought directly to our client’s customers, provided crucial feedback that dictated the way our clients’ products entered targeted markets. Additive manufacturing is ideal because the price for tooling and injection molding may be unnecessarily costly with specialized or custom one-off products. We provide solutions for fast results for low-volume production of parts.
When moving into mass production, it’s important to remember not only the volume of parts, you want but also the finishing and assembly of your entire product. This is most viable for clients who have assessed their targeted market and assessed buyer response, and can therefore confidently invest in tooling and injection molding for the volume of parts they want.
Beginning mass production doesn’t have to be a scary leap into the unknown. We’re highly experienced in helping people and companies bring products to market successfully and will enjoy helping you along in the process. We like to say that we have some of the best jobs in the world: Helping to bring awesome concepts into full production reality.
