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No, rapid prototyping and 3D printing are not the same thing. Rapid prototyping is a manufacturing strategy, making physical models quickly to validate a design; 3D printing is one technology family that can serve that strategy. This page explains the difference for specification and purchasing use, and it deliberately does

Prototype lead time is a product of the process, the material, the quantity, and the post-processing, and it changes by an order of magnitude across the prototype stages. A printed concept model can arrive in days, a machined functional part in a week or two, and a tooled pre-production part

CNC, computer numerical control, is a family of machines that follow programmed tool paths, and the family covers far more than the mills most people picture. Turning centers rotate the part against a stationary tool, machining centers rotate the tool against a stationary part, and the same control technology runs

Aerospace prototyping carries a double requirement: the prototype must be fast enough to keep the program moving, and the data it produces must survive into qualification. A bracket printed for a fit check is a different deliverable from a bracket machined for a load test, and both differ from the

FDM, SLA, and SLS are the three most common 3D printing technologies, and they produce parts with very different precision, surface, strength, and cost. FDM extrudes melted plastic through a nozzle, SLA cures liquid resin with a laser, and SLS fuses nylon powder with a laser, so the choice is

The material is the largest variable in CNC milling. Aluminum mills fast with fine finishes, steel and stainless need controlled parameters, titanium and nickel alloys are slow and hard on tooling, and plastics need sharp tools and light cuts. The material choice drives the cycle time, the tool cost, and

Aluminum is the most machined metal in production, and for good reason: it cuts fast, holds tight tolerances, produces good surfaces, and costs less than steel and titanium while offering excellent strength-to-weight. The alloy choice, 6061 for general parts, 7075 for high strength, 2024 for aerospace, and 5052 for formed

Sheet metal fabrication is the manufacturing of parts from flat metal sheet by cutting, forming, and joining. A flat sheet becomes a bracket, an enclosure, a chassis, or a panel through a sequence of operations: laser cutting or punching removes the outline and the holes, press braking bends the flat

The prototype development process is a gated sequence that turns an idea into a validated, production-ready design: requirements, concept and design, first prototype, test and iterate, freeze, and handoff. Each step produces a deliverable, and the program advances only when it exists. This page is the execution guide; the definition

The material in a rapid prototype should match what the prototype must prove. A concept model can be printed in a cheap polymer, a functional prototype should be machined or printed in the production material, and a pre-production build must use the production material and process. Choosing the material for

Concentricity is the relationship that makes rotating and mating parts work: the feature that must spin true, the bore that must align with the shaft, and the register that must seat the assembly. In turning, concentricity is produced by the setup, because features machined in one chuck share the rotation

A prototype is a working representation of a product or part, built to validate a design before production, and the type is chosen by the question being asked. This page focuses on the definition and the prototype types; the rapid prototyping strategy and its processes are covered in the Rapid