3D Printed Prototype – Test & Iterate

Dave Groff shares his story of how he worked with Xometry to test, iterate and refine a 3D printed prototype.

“I am young engineer who is always testing ideas and building things. A few months ago, me and a colleague decided to test out an idea in hopes we could turn it into a viable product.

We created designs and revised them many times. We used my hobby 3d printer to visualize the part. The part seemed like it would work, but we needed the part to be flexible so we were unable to truly test it. We were limited on the types of materials we could use with our inexpensive 3d printer. That is when we turned to Xometry. I had never used their services before, but was surprised to see all of the materials they were able to utilize. We ordered our part in a rubber-like material, and in a few days we had the part in our hands.

We then were able to get a true test of the part. In this case, we realized that it would not work exactly as we had planned. This was very valuable information to us. It allowed us to take a step back and re-evaluate our design and make crucial changes.

Being able to test our part with a similar quality and material that would exist in the final product was a game-changer. We are still in the process of refining our new design. We will repeat our previous steps and order another prototype part."