Prototype Machining Birmingham, AL
Prototype machining Birmingham, AL. Prototyping is the first and most important step in an end-product’s journey from idea to shelf. To do it right the first time around, you should choose a prototype machine shop in Birmingham that can not just make your designs come alive, but have specialists on staff that can also make revisions to the product to make it even better.
At Roberson Machine Company, we are a leader in rapid prototyping in a number of industries. If you can dream it, we have the capabilities to make it a reality—no matter the complexity! Our contract manufacturers are ready to support your product development initiatives.
Contact us or call 573-646-3996 for a free quote on CNC prototype machining in Birmingham, AL.
Prototype Services Birmingham
We have an expansive factory floor with mills, lathes, and EDM machines to meet your CNC prototyping expectations. The entire staff at Roberson Machine Company is dedicated to ensuring your product development journey goes off without a hitch, which is why we meticulously oversee all designing, programming, and fabricating to make sure every last detail is perfect.
Finally, we know how important it is to move a completed prototype to production so that it can get on the market as soon as possible. Once the prototypes design has been approved, we can easily transition it to our in-house production side. This allows us to be your one-stop shop for prototyping services of all kinds.
CNC prototyping services we offer:
- 3, 4, and 5-axis machining
- CNC Milling
- Wire EDM
- CNC Turning
- High-level surface finishing capabilities
- Metal fabrication
- Variety of capabilities such as extrusion, bending, folding, stamping, welding, cutting, spinning, etc.
- Variety of materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, etc.
- Both complex and simple part geometries
- Tight tolerances (as tight as 0.0001” inches for some parts)
What is Prototyping?
A prototype is a first-attempt physical model of a product that’s made through a special manufacturing process like CNC machining. It can be used for many purposes and is usually the first step in the mass-production of a product. For instance, many clients turn to Roberson Machine Company to create a physical part swiftly in order to validate a design or capture a sales opportunity.
Prototyping is an advantageous practice that can be used for:
- Showcasing the physical model of a product to investors and customers in a relatively short amount of time
- Demonstrating the appearance, dimensions, and features of your product
- Generating multiple separate versions of the product with differing textures, colors, and finishes
- Ensuring that all parts are standardized in terms of quality, size, dimension, and shape
- Testing the market with your product before production
- Finding and fixing potentially costly design defects before reaching market
- Streamlining and improving upon the entire production process
Overall, rapid prototyping in Birmingham saves money, time, and hassle by creating one product that can be tested and improved upon before investing in thousands of units. Contact us to see how this process can help your company realize a variety of cost savings.
Who Uses Prototype Machining?
Multiple Birmingham, AL industries are well aware of the benefits of prototype machining and use it to reduce the chance of disruptions in the development process. Roberson Machine Company has successfully partnered with a sizable number of companies, big and small, to achieve their prototype manufacturing goals. We have assisted the following Birmingham, AL industries and others develop prototypes rapidly and within cost requirements:
- With the advent of the “just-in-time” manufacturing process, the automotive industry needs new parts to be developed as quickly as possible and in any quantity. Roberson Tool partners with Birmingham, AL automotive suppliers ranging from small custom shops to well-known OEMs to build prototype parts in several different materials, delivered quickly and within costs.
- Birmingham, AL oil and energy firms have special demands for prototypes: they must be built to withstand the heavy pressure of underground pipeline burial, mining, and refining. Roberson answers these demands by excelling in machining prototypes using exotic materials such as alloy steel, plastics, and brass.
- The Birmingham, AL medical industry mandates that parts are developed to some of the most exacting tolerances in the machining industry: above all, ensuring that defective parts do not make it to end users is truly the difference between life and death. As well, medical parts are often very small and complicated in design. Roberson Machine Company has in our shop the latest 5-axis CNC machining tools that can not only rapidly fabricate medical part prototypes no matter the dimensions, but also provide process and tracking reports mandated by the FDA.
- Aerospace manufacturers need parts with intricate geometries and dimensions, and in a majority of cases using exotic metals that do not deform at high temperatures and altitude. As well, the special pressures and characteristics of flight require parts built to exacting tolerance and design standards. Our veteran technicians are eager to take on the unique demands of aerospace prototype manufacturing, and our AL machine shop is focused on delivering aerospace manufacturers parts built to the optimal standard of quality.
This experience in prototype manufacturing for multiple AL industries makes Roberson Machine Company a true partner throughout the manufacturing process. Our expert team of specialists can help you recognize flaws in your product, propose design and reliability improvements, and otherwise build on the quality of your Birmingham, AL end product while reducing your R&D costs.
Why Use CNC Machining for Rapid Prototyping in Birmingham, AL
There are many different methods that can be used to create your prototypes, but CNC machining is far and away one of the most effective. Short for computer numerical control, CNC allows you to digitally design your product, program the design data into the computer, and let the CNC machine take care of the rest, shaving away portions from a piece of raw material in order to create the desired end-shape.
Using computers improves the efficiency of cuts and virtually eliminates human error which, in turn, means that you can make flawless, quick parts the first time AND every time thereafter. There are a variety of other reasons to choose CNC machining for prototyping, such as:
- More precise – Computer-controlled machines use modern cutters that are extremely accurate and precise in order to create parts with very tight tolerances.
- Quicker – Modern CNC machine tools work with sophisticated computer programs that can convert files into finished parts within a matter of hours, which is invaluable towards getting products to market quickly.
- Different materials to choose from – CNC machine tools are able to work with practically any material that is machinable, which includes many kinds of metal and plastic substrates. This is a great advantage to product developers who want to test from one different material to the next.
- Fixed tooling is not necessary – CNC machined parts do not need to use separate tools and dies, which helps diminish the initial investment costs and lead time for new product development.
- Easy to modify – New product development often requires a series of improvements and modifications to the original design. With CNC machining, you can easily alter digital instructions as many times as necessary.
Prototype Manufacturing Near Me Birmingham, AL | Roberson Machine Company
CNC machining is used by many businesses who need high-quality and quick parts in small volumes for prototyping and testing samples. When you choose Roberson Machine Company, we will work with you every step of the way to ensure that your needs are fully addressed, your designs are crafted to perfection, and the final product is delivered to you on time.
Contact us for CNC prototyping Birmingham services of all kinds. Call 573-646-3996 for a free quote.