Rapid Network

You know the drill-the project is going swimmingly and is right on schedule, when ... the big
cheese pops into your office with an "opportunity." Apparently the marketing guys were at a
trade show in Vegas and they saw that the competition was going to introduce their version of
your design in five months. Problem is that your product is not going to be ready for six. So, the
obvious solution is to simply take two months out of the schedule. It's just like a Dilbert cartoon.
In the midst of the hurry-up offense, it is not unusual for even the best designers to begin to think
not at the product level, but at the component level. That is to say, they focus more on their aspectof the design cycle and less about the project as a whole. Collaborative effort tends to break downwhen time lines must suddenly be compressed and, unfortunately, it is at these times thatcollaboration and communication between project members (both internal and external) is most
crucial.

In terms of plastic component design where rapid bridge tooling is to be used as a means to help
compress the design cycle, part designs are often hurried to release. The result is often multiple
engineering changes in which the design is validated on the run. Additionally, many rapid tooling
vendors do not offer high-level engineering or design optimization services and will usually build
a tool that will produce the design submitted-regardless of how complicated or production
unfriendly it may have to be.

Methods used by rapid tool vendors, while appropriate for quickly producing parts, often do not
translate well into the full-production world. In some situations, parts can be produced with a
rapid tool, but are not suitable for a production mold expected to run thousands or millions of
pieces. The main reason for this is that rapid tools tend to be very manual and simplistic in the
interest of saving time, while production tools are built for the long haul, meant to produce lowcost
volumes. For example, it is possible to create a plastic component with "trapped" plastic in a
rapid tool using interlocking hand-loads or pick-outs, but in a production situation this would
possibly be deemed unmoldable.

Accelerating the development process is an interesting challenge. When considering rapid or
bridge tooling to save time, the last thing you need to worry about is overcoming avoidable
obstacles. When choosing a rapid tooling supplier, consider the following important items.

Ask the Right Questions:

Simply inquiring about lead-time may not produce the optimum results. Some good questions to
ask are:

· Can the supplier assist with the development of your design to help ensure your tooling is
cost-effective and easily made? One of the most frustrating moments in an engineering
project is realizing the design cannot be manufactured cost- effectively, or that it could
have been easier to run with only a few simple changes. Your supplier should understand
the goals you are trying to achieve with rapid tooling and the manufacturing details
associated with it well enough to ensure getting it right the first time-as cost-effectively
as possible. Every penny you spend reworking a design or that is wasted in an ineffective
manufacturing process is a penny stolen from your project budget and your company's
bottom line, not to mention the loss of valuable time!

· Is the supplier able to produce parts in the material you plan to use for production or do
they understand plastic resin specs well enough to assist in material selection? With the
progress of technology, there are multitudes of processes that will produce prototype
parts very quickly and inexpensively. Unfortunately, many of these prototyping processes
do not produce parts in the material that will be specified for production. This usually
means that these components work well for verifying form and fit, but may not work for
functional or destructive testing. Look for a supplier that can cost-effectively provide
your design in the material you specify and offer material options if there might be a
better material available for your project. This will ultimately save you time and money
because you will be able to use the same part for fit, finish, product testing, and executive
sign off. With today's technology, there is no reason to create an inexpensive rapid
prototype only to make a working prototype before tooling. What you see in your
prototype should reflect what you will get in manufacturing.

· Can the supplier produce parts based on your original design or will they require you to
change it in order to utilize their processes? This is a very important question to ask
potential suppliers before you send your design out for a quote. In the zeal to save time, it
is often assumed that all rapid tooling methods are the same and will produce an "as
designed" component. However, some suppliers have very specific guidelines when
quoting rapid tooling. Although the quote you receive may be cost-effective, you may
have to invest valuable time redesigning your part and resending the data files in order to
utilize a specific tooling process. Many design engineers have very specific reasons for
the geometry of their parts and should not settle for compromises when sourcing rapid
tooling. If the part design is important, make sure the supplier you choose can produce
your parts "as designed" the first time.

· How is quality control managed internally? Quality control is essential in this fast paced,
competitive world. Make sure the supplier you choose has a quality process in place from
receiving the project to sending it out the door. Each step of the process should be
documented; checks and balances should be in place so you get the parts that are not only
cost-effective but are of the highest quality. Sacrificing quality in the interest of saving
lead time is never a good idea.

Optimize Your Design for Tooling:
Once you have chosen the best supplier, make sure you work together to optimize your design for
tooling. Simple changes can often be made in the design that can save thousands of dollars and
numerous headaches in production. For example, if the original design makes it difficult to
remove the part from the tool, it will slow production, robbing valuable time and driving up part
prices. Making a slight change to an angle or undercut could easily solve the problem without
risking the integrity of the design.

· Think ahead to manufacturing. At every step in the project, you and your supplier should
work together to determine how the design will be manufactured. Some rapid tooling
vendors not only offer rapid tooling services but full-service design and development as
well. Many times, these suppliers deal with different designs and materials from a wide
cross section of industries. Use this knowledge base to your advantage by discussing your
design and its potential applications. Consider processes, material selection, design
parameters, testing, assembly criteria, environmental issues, application, etc. Your
supplier may be able to offer valuable recommendations, especially when it comes to
material type and availability.

· Consider short-run molding and manufacturing. As you think ahead to manufacturing,
you may realize that some projects do not have the required volume to justify an
investment in hard (production) tooling. Make sure your rapid tooling partner not only
understands how to build the tool, but how it should be processed, molded, tested, and
possibly assembled. If your project requires quick turn around, has low volume, and the
need to reduce manufacturing lead time, consider utilizing short-run molding and
manufacturing.

Rapid tooling should not only be about getting parts quickly, but about learning as much as
possible about how the part can be quickly tooled and produced cost-effectively when it is time
for mass production. When sourcing a rapid tooling partner, the best situation is to find a vendor
that not only understands rapid tooling, but part design, material selection, optimization for
production, and molding/manufacturing. Make sure to include your rapid tooling vendor as a
member of your project team, especially if they understand the entire design and development
cycle. It may not only save time and money getting ready for production, but in actual production,
as well.