You’ve just had a new design approved to move on to the next stage – prototyping. That’s good news, right?
The only issue? Your first iteration is due in a short amount of time and you don’t know where to source the pieces from.
Choosing the Right Supplier
Finding the right supplier can be difficult under normal circumstances, let alone when you’re on a time crunch. If you’ve never had to source products before, the first things to keep in mind are your physical product needs, budget, the scale of your project, reliability of the supplier, and time constraints.
Once you have all of these factors figured out, you can either look for suppliers that meet your criteria, or put out a Request for Proposals. Once you have received a handful of bids, consider which ones will best meet your requirements. If you have some contenders that can’t meet your deadline or require a minimum product order that’s above what you need, put those to the side and focus on the others.
What to Look for in a Fastener Supplier
Since special fasteners are present in just about every product imaginable, there’s a good chance you’ll need at least a few in your prototype to hold everything together.
When choosing a fastener supplier for a rapid prototyping project, look for companies that stock blanks in a wide variety of styles and sizes. These can be customized depending on your needs.
You should also look for manufacturers and/or distributors that not only carry a large inventory of options, but additionally have the ability to design customized fasteners just in case your project ends up needing something more precise.
How We Support Rapid Prototyping
At Chicago Nut & Bolt, our fastener prototypes take your specifications for geometry, joint design, and structure into account to come up with the right configuration for your prototypes. Our specialists can even take a look at your application demands and physical requirements to help determine the right material for your project.
Request a quote for your project to see how we can help you.
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