During the metal product development process, Metal prototyping is critical to create metal prototypes to verify the design before mass production. However, Do you know how the metal prototypes are created? now, In this article, KUSLA will share with you all the methods, materials, and surface finishes for the metal prototypes.
What is metal prototyping？
Metal Prototyping is a process that uses rapid metal manufacturing techniques to create an early physical model of a new metal product. it is used for testing the desired metal product performance before mass production. The methods of metal rapid prototyping include CNC machining, 3D printing, and more.
Advantages of metal prototypes
Metal prototypes have many benefits and are suitable for various kinds of industries, some of the benefits of creating metal prototypes include the following:
Strong And Durable:
Metal materials are much stronger than plastic or wood materials. This is because Metal prototypes with the metal material carry the material properties. this property makes them able to be used in applications where strength is required.
Cost-Effectiveness:
Metal prototypes can be more cost-effective because there is no expensive tooling needed in the metal prototype machining process.
Versatility:
Metal prototypes can be made with all the metal materials, which means the metal prototype can be used in exactly the same applications of mass production parts.
Function Test:
Metal prototypes can use the same materials as production materials, which makes the function test available with metal prototypes, no need to wait for the tooling products to make the test, reducing the metal products’ development time.
Five methods to make a metal prototype
There are different methods to make metal prototypes for metal rapid prototyping. now, we introduce five methods including CNC machining, metal 3D printing, sheet metal prototyping, metal casting, and extrusion.
CNC machining prototype
CNC machining is widely used for creating metal prototypes with high precision. it utilizes a computer-controlled CNC machine to control the movement of cutting tools to cut material from the metal blocks. Based on the shape of the product, you can choose CNC milling, CNC turning, and CNC drilling for metal prototypes. Almost all Materials are suitable for metal prototypes, including aluminum alloys, copper, steel, titanium alloys, zinc alloys, and magnesium alloys.
Metal 3D printing prototype
3D printing is a very affordable method to create metal prototypes but with less accuracy. it uses a laser to weld thin layers of metal powder to create metal parts, it can create complex metal prototypes quickly. the common metal 3D printing technology includes selective laser melting (SLM) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). it can create metal prototypes in hours, so it is a good choice for those prototype projects that need rapid delivery without precision.
Sheet metal prototype
Sheet metal prototyping is a method to make prototypes with sheet metal. It involves various processes such as sheet metal cutting, bending, punching, forming, and welding to shape the sheet metal into the desired prototype. sheet metal prototypes such as enclosure, casing, and structural frames can be created quickly through Sheet metal prototyping.
Metal casting prototype
Metal Casting prototyping is widely used for creating a small volume of physical metal prototypes. Pouring molten metal into a rapid mold, then cooling the material to form the product same as the mold cavity. the rapid mold can be created by 3D printing or CNC machining on soft steel materials.
Metal extrusion prototype
Metal extrusion creates metal profile prototypes by forcing material through a shaped opening in a die, producing an elongated part with a uniform cross-section. aluminum alloys are the most used material for Extrusion to create prototypes like metal bars, brackets, and joints.
Metal extrusion is typically used for mass production, However, KUSLA could also work on prototypes with the aluminum extrusion prototyping process.
Common metal prototype materials
Materials for prototypes sometimes are not the same as the final production, this is because to get a quick prototype, more easy-to-machine materials can be used to speed up the process. Aluminum and steel are the two commonly used materials for metal prototypes because they are low-cost materials and very easy to machine and could be applicable for most of the metal prototyping methods above.
However, On some occasions, there may need to use metals like copper, titanium, magnesium, and other metal materials.
you may want to know more about Common Aluminum Alloys for Machining. check in our blog.
Key Considerations For Metal Prototyping
There are some factors to consider before metal prototyping, these factors will affect how you will make the prototype and affect the cost and timing of your project.
Precision
Before starting, you need to know the precision level you need for the metal prototypes, If you need a metal prototype with high precision, then you can choose CNC metal machining to create your prototypes. otherwise, you can choose the 3D printing process if no high precision requirement.
Material
Prototype material sometimes is not the same as the final product, this depends on the purpose of your requirement, if the purpose of the metal prototype is to have a function test that could be impacted by the material, then you need to use exactly the same metal materials as the final product. Meanwhile, If the materials are thin sheet metal, you can use sheet metal fabrication methods to create sheet metal prototypes to save cost.
Surface finish
You need to understand the surface finish requirement, different metal prototyping methods result in different surface finish. for example, metal 3D printing has a rougher surface finish than CNC machining.
Volume
The volume of the metal prototype is also important to be considered before starting. this is because Some methods are best suited to few numbers, but some work for higher volumes.
Cost budget
Some metal prototyping methods such as casting and extrusion may have high initial costs for making toolings, if you do not have enough cost budget, you may only use CNC machining or 3D printing and reduce the volume to cover the cost budget.
Conclusion
Making a high-quality Metal prototype is important for the metal product development process, so working with a professional rapid prototyping factory is needed you ensure the quality. With advanced equipment and a highly trained professional team, KUSLA is always ready to support you for your projects.
FAQ
What is the lead time to create a metal prototype?
Generally, less than 5 days to create a metal prototype with CNC machining, 3D metal printing, and sheet metal prototyping. For casting metal prototypes, it will take less than 10 days to make.
How much does a metal prototype cost?
the metal prototype cost depends on the materials and prototyping methods. Generally, for a piece metal prototype, it will take $50 to $1000 to make.
