Well, let’s be honest, if you ask a majority of entrepreneurs what is the most expensive method during the prototyping stage, most of them will say its prototype injection tooling. It’s the costliest stage of product development before mass production is finally rolled out.
Before pumping all your millions into the project, you need first to have a rough idea of how your final product will look like, and there is no better way of doing that than creating prototypes using modern technology; we are in the age where a standard CAD model doesn’t work anymore.
Prototype injection molding is the creation of a part or product with the sole aim of testing its product functionality. In the past, most prototypes were created using mock-up materials, thanks to technology prototypes nowadays are created using the same materials that are used in the final product.
Prototype injection molding presents a lot of benefits to our designers and engineers at LT century to identify the flaws and defects on the prototype earlier on for rectification. Injection molding prototypes makes more sense economically, saving you a lot of money in the long-run.
The prototypes will bring your design ideas to light, even the wildest widening your scope of imaginations. Selling ideas doesn’t cut it anymore, it’s the dawn of crowdfunding, for most manufacturers and entrepreneurs they are looking for an edge over their competitors by coming up with products that can be demonstrated to potential investors.
If you look at the best-funded project, they have one thing in common; they all have something to show-off in terms of a finished part/product. In this post, we are going to show you why having a functional prototype is important.
plastic injection molding parts*
Attracting investors
As we mentioned earlier, imagination and expanding your ideas will make you stay competitive, even if your business is traditionally oriented. If you are on the lookout for investors to fund your projects, providing a demonstration of a fully functional prototype will significantly boost your chances of securing funding from investors.
Having your product/part tested by investors will provide validation for your ideas, building a sense of confidence in your project. To back up your ideas and design, you need to have a working prototype, even if the project is crowdfunded; it’s always essential to have a prototype.
Improving your product
The primary function of a prototype is for experimentation and testing; this means it has to be broken down as many times as possible to ensure it fully works. This ensures that your specifications and design requirements are met, providing deep insights into your products as well as the improvements that need to be made.
Giving you head start in terms of marketing
Prototypes are an important marketing tool; to stay ahead of the market curve, you need to have reliable and factual data by doing market research that will enable you to handle sales figures. Having a functional prototype can be tested by your target audience, allowing your marketing department to come up with timely and useful campaigns.
Reference
*Image from http://www.hofferplastics.com/