Benefits of Outsourcing Rapid Prototypes to China

by Fiorela Luca Senior SEO Analyst

Rapid Prototyping China are hot searched in Google in China. Interesting fact is that China is the most preferred nation to get precise rapid prototyping services because of quality, timing, advanced solutions and lower pricing in compare with the other countries. If you have to find the right company that has been offering you such rapid prototyping service manufacturer in China, than you cannot miss this article.

Outsourcing rapid prototyping to China is very popular nowadays. This article aims to give you an idea about outsourcing your projects here if you are planning on doing it for the first time.

How to make your decision to get shortlist of companies?

For any given project, you should try to get quotations from a handful of promising-looking companies. Once you have done that, consider the following factors before making your final decision.

Opportunities for Innovation

Rapid prototyping China opens new opportunities for innovation by eliminating the restrictions of conventional prototyping, which requires production of prototype tooling and physical components to exacting tolerances. Designers can create models incorporating complex shapes and surfaces that would be difficult or impossible to reproduce by conventional prototyping.

Time Savings

By eliminating the time needed to produce molds, patterns and special tools required for conventional modeling, rapid prototyping China reduces time between initial design and analysis. An accurate model is quickly available for testing form, features, performance and usability. Rapid prototyping is a highly automated process that enables designers to quickly modify products in line with feedback. The time savings can help organizations gain competitive advantage by bringing new products to market quickly, ahead of competitors.

Cost Reduction

Rapid prototyping China helps to reduce the costs of product development. There is no need to develop special tools for each new product. Rapid prototyping uses the same CAD and printing equipment each time. The automated prototyping process also reduces staff costs. The costs of waste are lower, because the prototyping technique only adds modeling material where needed. Conventional prototyping techniques create waste through cut-off material or chippings as the tools create the finished model.

Easier Visualization

Through rapid prototyping China The ability to create a realistic three-dimensional scale model helps designers present new product concepts to stakeholders, such as board members, clients or investors who need to understand and approve the development program. Designers can also gain feedback from potential users and customers that is based on physical products, rather than concepts, enabling them to incorporate realistic usability data into the later stages of development.

Lower Risk

By enabling detailed physical analysis at an early stage in the development program, rapid prototyping China can reduce the risk of costly errors. The development team can identify design faults or usability problems and make any modifications quickly. The iterative process provides a precise model for production tooling, reducing the risk of later manufacturing problems.

Support for Customization

Rapid prototyping China is an iterative process, so it is easy to incorporate individual customers’ requirements and create customized products cost effectively. Development teams do not have to design each customized product from scratch. Customization can provide a strong competitive advantage by offering customers greater choice and flexibility.

Price. The cost of a project is, of course, one of the most important factors when choosing a prototyping supplier. Some companies may quote very high prices if they think the customer has a very high budget. On the other hand, some companies may quote a very low price to secure the project.In my opinion, it pays to familiarize yourself with the actual material and labor costs of a project, so you can identify a fair and reasonable price. Super low prices may be attractive, but companies quoting these prices will realize they are going to lose money, then attempt everything in their power to cut their own expenditure. When this happens, the quality of the prototype will undoubtedly drop.

Confidentiality. Some manufacturers are happy to show off a customer’s parts — during manufacturing or when finished — via social media. But these images and videos should never be made public. The first thing you should do with a prototyping partner is sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with them.

Shipment. Shipping overseas from China normally takes around 2 days — but sometimes longer. So for time-sensitive projects, you might consider a local prototyping partner for maximum efficiency. That being said, many Chinese prototyping companies work though the night, so may still be able to match or even beat the shipping times of local companies. Regarding weight and volume, large or heavy parts may result in high shipment costs — unless you are prepared to receive the parts via sea freight. For especially large or heavy orders, it might be more effective to stay local.

Reliability. When we started up, we were a trading company without our own factory, so we had to outsource everything. During this period, we came across many “yes men”: manufacturers who would say yes to all technical points — regardless of their actual manufacturing capabilities. In the end, the difficult technical features would be done badly or omitted altogether.Conversely, some companies would say no to everything just to avoid risk, forcing the customer into a corner. In these cases, you would have to compromise on the goals of your project, even though your original plans were feasible. Being honest with our customers results in a better outcome for everyone.

Advantages of Chinese rapid prototyping

When you try to outsource to China, it is necessary to understand the advantages compared with local rapid prototyping suppliers or suppliers from another Western region.

Compared with Western prototyping companies, there is still quite a distance for Chinese prototyping companies to catch up. If you need super-precise prototypes, let’s say something with a tolerance of +/- 0.005 mm, it is probably not a good idea to buy it here. There are some companies with high-end machines that can achieve this type of tolerance, for sure, but they are not in the prototyping business. Importantly though, most prototypes require only a reasonable tolerance.

Compared with other Asian prototyping companies, things are a little different. Aside from Japan and South Korea, most Asian countries have lower labor costs than China. That being said, making quality prototypes isn’t just about setting up a good company. The supply chain is also very important: without quality materials and surface finishing options, for example, a prototype will be substandard. Experience is also a key issue: lots of Chinese companies have tried to expand to countries like Vietnam and Burma, but no prototyping company has been able to successfully transfer its production to those places due to supply chain issues and a lack of local experience.

How to identify a good Chinese rapid prototyping company?

There are thousands of rapid prototyping companies in China. But from what I can see, lots of these companies (at least 70%) are not truly ready for the overseas market — either in terms of quality or range of services. That’s why people sometimes have a negative picture of Chinese manufacturing.

The problem is that when you search “rapid prototyping in China,” you get dozens of results. So how can you tell which ones are good and which are not? One important thing to remember is that appearances can be deceiving.