Here at MindTribe, our product design team works with clients who have varied schedules and budgets. To best serve their individual needs, we use a variety of prototyping methods to create mechanical models for review. Sometimes the parts are used for engineering purposes, and other times the parts are purely cosmetic for interdisciplinary design reviews. Understanding the pluses and minuses of each process allows us to minimize time and budget while achieving the design objectives. Below is a short summary of the processes we use most often for small quantities of mechanical parts.
Posts Tagged ‘direct metal laser sintering’
A Drool-Worthy Process for Rapid Prototyping of Metal Parts
Thursday, March 13th, 2008Direct Metal Laser Sintering Meets Formula-1 – Next Up Product Prototypes?
At my house, it’s not enough to love great products and every detail of how they were made. That fact is obvious to anyone who’s seen my less-than-interested daughter hold her ears and run out of the room screaming at the first peep of conversations involving “machining” or “part line.” Product design infatuation was clearly part of our marriage vows, along with brewing strong coffee, making soufflé, and having and holding until the end. But those who know my situation best know that a keen love of motorsport was also part of the pre-nup. So when Formula 1 starts using a new method of rapid prototyping in metal, well, the pairing of the two topics—racing + product—seems almost cause for a celebration where I live, or at least a multi-hour discussion of the method’s potential over dinner with our equally obsessive friends.
Real Metal Parts from an Astonishing Prototyping Process
(photo courtesy of 3T RPD)