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Ask HN: what ways have you sourced a prototype for your physical product?
Howdy!
I am a programmer looking to create my first prototype for a simple product idea that I have. It is about the same complexity as a Pringles can, has no moving parts, and will be made of plastic.
I do not want to order a 3d printer for this, and I am looking for ways that any of y'all have sourced a physical prototype. I will only need a few runs of the product in less than ~5 quantity.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated and I don't mind being pointed to a blog or being pointed somewhere where I have to do some heavy lifting (in terms of my own research)!
- matthudson 13y agoHave you already modeled it? If you're comfortable leaving an email address so I could get in touch, I can send you a few prints of your design.
- TheBiv 13y agoI have created a rough proof of concept at this point and I am using google sketch up right now to try and model it in CAD format. I hope that answers your question! I would love for any advice you could give so please do shoot me a line at bentechwild at gmail dot com! Thank you very much!!
- mdturnerphys 13y agoDepending on the design, you could either have it 3d printed or have it machined. Online services are available for either option (e.g. shapeways.com and emachineshop.com, respectively), or you could find a local job shop to do either. The online services require you to provide them with prepared CAD files. A local job shop would be able to work with you on the CAD files if you don't have them already. Another option would be to try printing it at a local hackerspace (e.g. dallasmakerspace.org). Feel free to contact me if you want some more direction. I haven't prototyped consumer products, but I do spend a lot of time building one-off devices for physics research. You're right not to want to order your own 3d printer for this. The hobbyist grade ones still aren't plug and play, so you'd burn too much time getting it working.
- TheBiv 13y agoI really appreciate the response!! Also, idk if you knew where I am from when you wrote this, but I absolutely love the shoutout to the local Dallas shop. I will for sure start there and then exhaust all of the other resources that you mentioned. Thank you very much for your time!