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A rapid injection moulding specialist offers the medical device sector a service that makes possible the rapid delivery of prototype plastic parts. With its First Cut Prototype service, The Protomold Company, Ltd. (Telford, Shropshire, UK; www.protomold.co.uk), CNC-machines prototype parts directly from solid resin quickly and easily. The parts are stronger and have a better finish and more-accurate dimensions than prototypes made through conventional rapid prototyping processes.
The company has been operating in Europe for two years, turning 3-D CAD drawings into injection-moulded parts in quantities ranging from 25 to tens of thousands. Turnaround as short as the next business day is sometimes offered. The new service enables customers to make functional prototypes earlier in the product development cycle and from production resins. These prototypes do not compromise the component’s physical attributes, as can happen with conventional rapid prototyping.
The service outperforms CNC machine shops because customers can upload their CAD models to obtain a detailed cost and manufacturing analysis. In addition, once the model is finalized, the service provider’s software automatically produces the tool paths and programs the CNC machines.
