Extrusion Rapid Prototyping: We’ve Made it Easy, Fast and Free!

We are pleased to announce that we have invested in an Ultimaker 3 Extended (3D printer) and are now able to provide a Rapid Prototyping Service.

As we are launching this service, for a limited time only we are offering this service FREE of charge when you let BWC Group quote for your extrusion project.

This Ultimaker 3 Extended allows us to offer the following;

Build Volume: 215 x 215 x 300mm

Print Accuracy: 0.2 - 0.02microns

What drawings are accepted?

We accept a variety of drawing types including doodles and sketches, the main types of drawings which are

 uploaded are DWG & DXF files. If you have your design in a PDF format, that’s fine, our in-house team of experts can convert that and have it ready for print within the same day.

We also accept 3D files such as OBJ and STL files or any other 3D models of your drawing you might have.

Whether you have a sketch on a piece of scrap paper or a 3D drawing of your design, we are confident that we can provide a 3D print of your project and produce a high quality rapid prototype.

What are the turnaround times for rapid prototypes?

Our turnaround times are usually within 3 – 5 working days depending on how developed your drawing is.

If you have provided a sketch, doodle or basic drawing of the design you would like to be printed, you can expect a slightly longer turnaround time. This is to ensure that we finalise your design and have a CAD file to work with that represents your drawing in the best possible way.

The more developed your drawing is the quicker the turnaround time will be.

How to upload online 

It’s easy, you can upload your design using the form here.

If you have more than one file to upload, you will need to zip your files together to create a zip folder which can be uploaded to our form.

Once we have received your drawing we will get in touch to let you know that your project is progress and to let you know when you can expect the rapid prototype to be with you.

We can produce prototypes up to 215 x 215 x 300 mm and they are usually printed in Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) material.

Whether your design is simple or complex, we are confident that we can produce it.

Read more about our rapid prototyping service here or get in touch with our team today!

Why having a quote is just as important as receiving the prototype

Rapid prototypes make it easy to assess your design and verify whether it’s going to work, it allows you to see a physical representation of your idea and lets you quickly identify if any alterations are needed.

Having the cost of the extrusion quoted at the same time as receiving your prototype allows you to present your design idea to those who need to approve it with a quote of how much the whole project is going to cost. Not only does that make you super organised, it also gives you the opportunity to know if you’re working within your budget.

How does this help?

Having a prototype and understanding the costs of a project whilst in the design phase will help raise a couple of essential questions;

• Will your design work the way you thought it would?
• Is there anything within the design that can be changed to lower the cost of your extrusion?

There are many factors which could affect the cost of your extrusion, a few of these include the shape, wall thickness, tolerances etc. If you require any help or advice regarding your design, speak to one of our design experts here.

As I mentioned before, seeing your prototype and receiving a quote for your project will help to eliminate possible flaws within your design and potentially help to bring down the cost of your extrusion by knowing what could be changed to make it more cost effective.

Check out our eBook: Designing Extrusions to understand the basics of what makes an extrudable design.