Rapid Tooling for Prototypes & Bridge Production
Rapid tooling compresses the path from CAD to molded parts from months to days. We machine aluminum molds, mold real parts in your production resin, and hand you a DFM-validated program ready to scale into hardened-steel production.
Rapid Tooling Options
Pick the tool that matches your stage — prototype, bridge, or pre-production.
Aluminum & Soft Tooling
Machined aluminum molds that deliver real molded parts in days — the bridge between prototype and hardened-steel production.
- 5–15 day turn
- Low NRE
- Same resin as production
- Design iteration friendly
Prototype & Bridge Tooling
Tooling sized for pilot lots and market validation before capital commitment.
- 10k–100k shot life
- DFM locked early
- Fast first-article
- Reorder-ready
Production Tooling Transition
When volume justifies it, we convert the program to hardened-steel multi-cavity tooling on the same process window.
- Seamless resin switch
- Cavity multiplication
- SPC on every cavity
- Locked parameters
Rapid Tooling vs Traditional Hardened Steel
Where rapid tooling wins on time-to-part and cost.
| Factor | Rapid (aluminum) | Hardened steel |
|---|---|---|
| Lead time | 5–15 days | 6–12 weeks |
| NRE | Low | High |
| Volume fit | 10 – 100k | 100k – millions |
| Best for | Validation, bridge | Mass production |