Prototyping
CutLaserCut can help you produce your Prototype ideas and make them become a reality. Wikipedia defines Prototyping and a Prototype as ‘an early sample, model or release of a product built to test a concept or process.’
An increasing element of our work is helping to develop Prototypes of product concepts and design ideas. It is a great use for our combination of design and drawing skills, varied machines including hand tools and finishing and expert knowledge of materials.
Because of the tooling, machinery, skills and experience CutLaserCut has built up since 2010, we’re very well placed to know what will work and what won’t; and if we’ve never built something exactly like your idea, we’re in a good position to try it for the first time!
Our typical prototyping services will include an in-depth discussion of requirements before development of a project brief which we set out in clear terms for agreement. We then show our commitment to the project by ‘bundling’ a package of reduced cost services finishing in a prototype product which can be further developed. The normal charge for this package of services is £250+VAT for initial works.
Depending on where you find yourself in the product / concept design stage. You may want to review some of the scholarly advice on the different stages of product development, such as the Goldsmiths Technology Commercialization Model.
You may be skilled with technical drawing and may have already produced concept and engineering drawings suitable to explain your product and have it produced by laser, CNC or 3D printing. If so, it could be useful to refer to our drawing resources section if you plan to produce some or all of the drawings yourself.
You may be a skilled model maker, or have worked with other contributors to have an initial production models produced. Or you may be in the early concept stages, where you have a great idea, and need someone technical to help it become a reality.
Because of the wide variety of skills and experience we have, and the wide variety of clients we work with. We can flex our services to best suit the needs of your project. For example our prototyping services could include:
- Assistance with initial Technical Concept Analysis
- Developing / creating / converting laser / CNC drawings of your product for development and production
- Technical Feasibility through modelling and generating a maquette (scale model) of your product, which may not be of production quality or in final materials, but a step towards those later steps
- Creating a Pre-Production Prototype which is an interim step between initial models and final / engineering prototypes
- Experimenting with materials, finishes, branding to give you something test and conduct further market and product testing with
- Creating an Engineering Prototype which accurately represents what final production units will eventually consist of
- Production planning of initial small batch production so that production issues and efficiencies can be explored
- Development of sustainable product packaging
It is our CutLaserCut mission to bring production back to the UK, one project at a time! For too long has the UK developed great ideas only to have them made overseas! When UK design and production is combined with sustainable materials, your UK produced product can be sold at a premium! With a lower carbon footprint than overseas produced alternatives and a great production ‘story’ for discerning clientele.
CutLaserCut production works especially well for products that CutLaserCut has helped prototype, but if you have an established product, or one requiring development, we’d be delighted to discuss requirements and provide quotation.
We work to short leads times, hours and days not weeks and months. We can make changes quickly and be your flexible production partner, holding special materials in stock so we can react quickly to your needs.
You can call off additional product and stock as required, we can even partner you for product fulfilment, holding your products in stock and dispatching them for you, should this be of interest.
Perhaps you are disenchanted with delays and communications issues with overseas suppliers. Or increasing import duties and red tape. Now is the time to bring production back to the UK and discuss Prototyping and Production with CutLaserCut!