Custom prototyping made by UK makers

A first working version of a product idea, a test fit before paying for tooling, a housing to try a circuit in, a rig to prove a mechanism works, the part that has to exist before anyone will back the idea.

A prototype earns its cost when it answers one question, so say which one: does it fit, does it work, does it look right, or will people want it. That decides whether a Maker reaches for a 3D printer, a CNC machine or the bench, and it moves the price more than anything else in the brief. Share whatever you have, from a dimensioned sketch to a CAD file, and say how many rounds you expect before the design settles. Most first prototypes take two to six weeks.