Sofeast’s Prototyping Capabilities

When developing a new product, having a lot of different resources (R&D, prototyping, testing, plastic injection molding, PCBA…) on the same site allows for much faster progress. That’s something our clients find very helpful.

Table of Contents

On-site Prototyping Equipment

1. Assembling Small Numbers Of PCB boards

PCBA (Surface Mount Technology)

When our electronic engineers need to make a few prototype boards, they can quickly get them through our prototyping PCBA equipment (solder paste printing, SMT pick & place robot, and mini oven). Suitable for up to about 100 boards.

2. Making Plastic Parts For Prototypes

LCD 3D Printers

The LCD (Digital Light Processing) 3D printer uses a type of vat polymerization to harden liquid photopolymer resin into the desired form by curing it with light.

Benefits	Drawbacks
Versatile as it can use ABS, PC, TPU, etc. Faster than SLA printers as each layer is cured completely at once Relatively high accuracy Low resin consumption Can print relatively thin parts Can print transparent parts	More expensive to run than FDM printers. LCD parts are less durable than FDM-printed ones Finish quality is not as good as SLA.

SLA 3D Printer

The SLA (stereolithography) 3D printer uses a layer-by-layer manufacturing method using photosensitive resin (polyacrylate) as the raw material for the parts and prototypes being fabricated. Since layers are added one by one, this is additive prototyping.

Benefits	Drawbacks
Many resins can be used (hard plastic, soft rubber, transparent, etc) Relatively high precision (+/- 0.1%) for a smooth surface; can make walls as thin as 0.5mm	The resin polymer used is sensitive to sunlight and will degrade over time. Post-processing is usually needed for nice aesthetics. Only one color can be printed at a time.

FDM Color 3D Printers

The Bambuu 3d printers we use (P1S x3 and Lab A1 x1) are relatively fast, providing relatively smooth and precise finishes, and can also print parts in 16 different colors.

Our FDM 3D printer is a good fit for certain prototyping purposes.

Benefits	Drawbacks
A wider range of materials than SLA models, and some materials are cheaper. More color options.	Finish accuracy is not as good as that of SLA.

Freeform Injection Molding: XiP Desktop 3D Printer

This cutting-edge 3D printer rapidly creates mold tooling that can be used to injection mold parts made of plastic, silicone, metals, and even ceramic. This technology combines the benefits of 3D printing with traditional injection molding, offering significant advantages in speed, cost, design freedom, and environmental impact over fabricating tooling from hard steel.

Read more about this technology here: Freeform Injection Molding: Using 3D-Printed Dissolvable Molds

Vacuum (Urethane) Casting

In some cases, the best way to get a few plastic parts made with physical properties relatively similar to those of mass-production parts is to make a soft mold via vacuum casting that can, typically, make up to about 20 parts in its lifetime. This only works for parts that can be easily de-molded.

Desktop Milling & Lathe (Turning) Machines

In some cases, depending on the part geometry, the best approach is to get a block of plastic and remove material from it. It also allows for testing the product with parts made from the right polymer, with physical properties relatively similar to those of injection-molded parts.
In addition to our computer numerically controlled machining centers (mentioned below), our R&D engineers use a milling machine and a lathe that are quick to set up and operate.

3. Making Metal Parts For Prototypes

CNC Milling Machines (3-Axis Milling)

We operate several 3-axis milling machining centers. They are very commonly used for precision machining of parts in many industries. We use them mainly for making tooling (plastic & silicone molds, die casting molds, etc) but also for machining metal parts for prototyping or small productions.

Benefits	Drawbacks
Very flexible in its applications and the materials it can shape. Can drill holes in-center or off-center, do straight or angled cuts, and accept materials that comes in many shapes (cylindrical and more).	Not ideal for many shapes (e.g. products with deep cavities). Will not present the exact same mechanical properties and textures as mass production for parts that will be injection molded, cast, etc.

4. Cutting Flat Materials (Metal, Plastic...)

Laser Cutting Machine

Our CNC-controlled CO2 laser cutting machine cuts parts that come to us in flat plates. This machine provides both precision and speed.

5. Adding Surface Finishes & Painting Parts

Sandblasting Machine

Our sandblasting machine is great for quickly adding a nice finish to prototype parts. It’s a great alternative to slow, laborious activities when done by hand, such as sanding, deburring, grinding, and other similar finishing tasks.

Mini Spray Painting Booth

Some prototypes need to be visually appealing. They need to look like industrial design renderings. That often necessitates layers of paint to be sprayed on.

6. Preparing Enclosures For Waterproofness Testing

Ultrasonic Welding Machine

The ultrasonic welding machine is used for assembling 2 parts using high-frequency vibration.
It is very versatile in materials it can join. This kind of welding is often used to join 2 thermoplastic parts, but it must be noted that it can also be applied to metals or paper with a certain coating.

7. Stitching Fabrics (if a prototype contains them)

Automated CNC Stitching Machine

We use an automated CNC stitching machine to quickly and accurately stitch fabric if that’s part of prototype products. Wearable technology products often incorporate fabrics, for example.

Traditional Sewing Machines

Traditional sewing machines are quick and flexible, allowing us to stitch a range of different textiles beyond the automated machine’s capabilities.

Sofeast’s In-house Testing Lab

We can also do performance and reliability tests in our own testing lab on the prototypes we’re making (both components and finished products), rapidly testing your prototypes to validate their performance, compliance, and quality.

You are thinking about prototyping, but are you thinking of manufacturing?

There is a proven process to get into production with low risks.
We wrote about that here: The New Product Introduction Process Guide

The key benefit is how we’re able to accelerate the product development process. We do product design, prototyping, and testing in short cycles, which allows us to bring innovative products to market faster and more smoothly.
We can also keep refining the custom-designed plastic, silicone, and metal parts much further while still in the prototyping phase. Very often, product developers will decide to fabricate tooling with the risk of having to make revisions, which are neither fast nor cheap. We can do quick preparation of a few parts in the same production-intent material, with the same geometry and physical properties as parts coming out of a mold. That often saves you a lot of money and time.
Keeping R&D work in-house also keeps your confidential intellectual property safer. We handle all stages of development within our four walls, minimizing the risks of your IP being shared with or even seen by the wrong eyes, such as when suppliers share it with who-knows how many sub-suppliers without your knowledge.

What Materials Can You Produce Prototype Parts & Products From?

Plastic parts by 3D printing (3 technologies including the fastest LCD printer on the market), free-form injection molding (with production plastics), CNC machining (with production plastics), vacuum/urethane casting (with production plastics)
Silicone parts by free-form injection molding
PCBAs
Ceramics by free-form injection molding
Metals by 3D printing (one of the polymers our LCD printer can use is a type of metal powder) or free-form injection molding
Fabric cut & sew

What Happens When We’re Done With Prototyping?