Industrial 3D Printing & Prototyping Services
Prototyping is an integral part of all good product design processes.
Without interacting with a product in the real world, you can never be sure whether a particular design has the right details or the correct ergonomics. When a product is made to be worn on the body, for instance, there is no substitute for wearing a prototype and analyzing the way it feels. Even when ergonomics aren’t a consideration, sizing, proportions, and construction issues can be uncovered by our prototyping services.
Product experimentation is a fundamental part of validating a new product. Testing product performance throughout the development process and prior to launching helps our team avoid backtracking and de-risks quality assurance complications post-launch.
While some brands have full in-house test labs and product testers, many brands and entrepreneurs choose to lean on our product testing services to gather valuable feedback during the development process. Our in-house testing is an integral part of gaining insights and optimizing products.
The best part about partnering with our team to bring your outdoor product to market is that some experimentation is always built-in. Since we’re a team of outdoor enthusiasts, we’re likely users of your product. Get to know our team and take a look at some of our favorite outdoor hobbies. We’re as close as you can get to having your customers design your product.
Once the majority of our sketching and concept exploration is complete, we’ll move into the physical world as fast as possible. Depending on the fidelity of the prototype and how refined the design is, we’ll typically use one of the four following prototyping techniques.
3D Printing
Perhaps the most well-known, modern prototyping technique is 3D printing. 3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing that “grows” a part based on a 3D model. 3D printing is very fast and accurate, although it requires a CAD file created with design software. 3D printing technology gets better every year, and production 3D printing is becoming more accessible for those looking for low volumes. While large-scale production 3D printing isn’t something we offer, we do offer small runs as part of our prototyping services.
Sculpting
When the dimensions of a part are still very loose and the intricate details have still yet to be worked out, sculpting is often a useful tool in our toolbox. Whether in foam or in clay, sculpting allows us to think with our hands and be inspired as we go. For complex geometries that take a long time to model in design software, we’ll often sculpt a model before we move into CAD.
Fabrication
When we have projects that are large or structural in nature, we’ll fabricate a prototype to check the functionality and sizing. Whether wood, metal, or plastic, we can cut, form, or join just about anything.
Cut & Sew
For soft goods prototyping, cut & sew is king. We start by making paper patterns to test general geometry, then move to rough mock-ups with a fabric chosen from our in-house fabric library. As we refine the prototypes and move closer to a finished product, we’ll also refine the fabric & color selection to visualize the design holistically. Since renderings for soft goods tend to be less realistic than for hard goods, prototypes are especially important. In addition to being useful for design refinement, prototypes can also be used to create digital assets, gain buy-in from key stakeholders, and make presales before production.
Industrial 3D Printing & Prototyping with Trailside Creative
Whether you need a simple mock-up or a looks-like prototype for detailed visual inspection, our prototyping services can handle the job. Reach out to the Trailside Creative team today and get more information on our process.
