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For newcomers engaged in new product development, there is often confusion about selecting the most appropriate process for prototype manufacturing. Based on years of industry experience, this article summarizes mainstream prototype production methods and corresponding selection criteria for your reference.
The mainstream prototype processing methods include CNC machining, vacuum casting, SAL rapid prototyping, prototype mold and other supporting technologies.
1. Selection Based on Product Usage
1.1 Product Strength Verification
To verify the structural stability and overall strength of products, CNC machined prototypes or injection molded prototypes are the optimal choices. SAL samples are manufactured by stacking special resin materials; this method features fast production speed, yet the finished products are fragile with poor structural toughness, which cannot support strength-related tests.
1.2 Selection Based on Production Quantity
Three mainstream technologies are available for batch prototype production: CNC machining, vacuum casting and prototype molding.
In terms of vacuum casting technology in China, a single set of silicone molds can only produce 13 to 15 finished pieces due to technical limitations, while foreign advanced technology can reach about 20 pieces per set of molds. The gaps between China and technologically developed countries mainly lie in three aspects:
Raw materials for vacuum casting
Raw materials for silicone molds
Mature experience in stabilizing molding parameters
For medium-volume prototype production in China, CNC machining is recommended for its stable and reliable technology.
As for large-batch production scenarios, if the required quantity reaches 50 pieces or above, prototype molding is strongly recommended. Similar to formal production molds, prototype molds are made of steel or aluminum. Our company has mature core technology to complete mold manufacturing within an average lead time of 5 to 10 days, and the manufacturing cost is only 30% of a formal mass-production mold.
In some cases, vacuum casting even costs more than prototype molding. It requires the same production cycle, but the finished products have unstable quality and lower dimensional accuracy. In addition, the service life of a standard prototype mold can reach 20,000 pieces, with far better production efficiency and product quality compared with vacuum casting using silicone molds.
Another core advantage of prototype molding lies in its scalability. If you need to expand production volume after completing small-batch prototype testing, we can simply modify and upgrade the existing prototype mold. The optimized mold can support mass production ranging from 20,000 to 500,000 pieces.
2. Selection Based on Processing Materials
SAL rapid prototyping adopts special resin materials to finish single-piece prototypes efficiently. However, the raw material has lower hardness and toughness than ABS material, so it is not applicable for product strength tests.
Common materials for CNC prototypes include PP, PC, ABS, POM, acrylic and aluminum. Nevertheless, CNC machining cannot process soft materials such as PVC, PU and rubber. For these materials, vacuum casting or prototype molding is the ideal solution.
Besides, vacuum casting and prototype molding support customized color injection during the molding process. By contrast, CNC products only retain the original color of raw materials; additional surface spraying is required if colored finished products are needed.
For products with extremely complex structures that cannot be integrally processed by CNC, we usually split the product into multiple parts for separate processing and then assemble them. It is worth noting that plastic materials like PP and PE have poor adhesion performance. For products made of such materials, vacuum casting or prototype molding is a better alternative to avoid assembly failure.
3. Selection Based on Product Shape
SAL technology is more suitable for small-sized products and intricate complex parts. The cost of manufacturing large-size prototypes via SAL is extremely high, which is not cost-effective.
CNC machining and prototype molding have no restrictions on product size, applicable to both large and small products. The processing speed is adjustable, and both methods can deliver finished products with smooth surface quality.
4. Selection Based on Delivery Cycle
Among all processing technologies, SAL boasts the fastest single-piece production efficiency. However, the cost will increase sharply if it is used for batch production.
We have summarized universal selection rules for production quantity:
Less than 10 pieces: Adopt CNC machining
10 to 50 pieces: Adopt vacuum casting (silicone mold)
More than 50 pieces: Adopt prototype molding
5. Selection Based on Machining Accuracy
The accuracy of all mainstream processes (SAL, CNC, vacuum casting, prototype molding) can be optimized through precise equipment parameter control. From the perspective of comprehensive cost performance, prototype molding is the best overall solution.
Prototype molded parts can not only verify product appearance, structural strength and practical functions, but also test resin fluidity and evaluate the stability of subsequent mass production, providing comprehensive data support for formal production.
The ranking of prototype processing technologies in terms of machining accuracy (from high to low) is as follows:
Prototype molded part
SAL / CNC Machining
Vacuum casting (Silicone mold)
The above content analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of various prototype processing methods for your reference.
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Business Scope: Prototype mold, China prototype mold, SAL prototype mold, SLS prototype mold, CNC machined prototype, rapid prototyping, mock-up, China mock-up, plastic mold mould, plastic injection mold, injection molding, injection molding parts, product design, mold mould design, design and production
