We Don’t Just Prototype. We Manufacture.
Most 3D printing companies hand you a prototype and wish you luck finding a manufacturer. We don’t.
PartSnap manages the entire journey from engineering design through prototyping to full-scale production. Our network of qualified, American manufacturers handles everything from 50-piece bridge runs to 50,000+ unit production.
Manufacturing Processes We Manage
Injection Molding
The gold standard for plastic parts at volume. We design parts for moldability from day one — draft angles, wall thickness, gate location, and parting line placement are engineered into the CAD model, not patched in later.
What we handle:
- Prototype tooling (aluminum, 500–5,000 shots)
- Bridge tooling (P20 steel, 10,000–50,000 shots)
- Production tooling (H13 hardened steel, 100,000+ shots)
- Multi-cavity and family molds
- Overmolding and insert molding
- First article inspection and PPAP documentation
Why it matters: Tooling is the biggest cost in injection molding — $5K to $100K+. Getting the design right before cutting steel saves orders of magnitude more than fixing it after.
CNC Machining
For metal and engineering plastic parts that need tight tolerances, superior surface finish, or specific material properties that molding can’t deliver.
Capabilities through our network:
- 3-axis, 4-axis, and 5-axis milling
- CNC turning and Swiss screw machining
- EDM (wire and sinker)
- Materials: aluminum, steel, stainless, titanium, brass, Delrin, PEEK, UHMW
- Tolerances to ±0.001″ on critical features
- Anodizing, plating, powder coating, and other finishes
Sheet Metal Fabrication
For enclosures, brackets, chassis, and structural components in aluminum or stainless steel.
What we handle:
- Laser cutting, punching, and forming
- Brake press bending (up to 12′ length)
- TIG and MIG welding (certified)
- Hardware insertion (PEM studs, nuts, standoffs)
- Powder coating and wet paint finishes
- Flat pattern development from 3D models
Weldments & Structural Fabrication
For frames, fixtures, and assemblies that need certified welds and structural integrity.
Urethane Casting
Bridge between 3D printing and injection molding. We 3D print a master pattern (usually SLA), create a silicone mold, and cast production-quality urethane parts in small quantities (10–200 units). Ideal for:
- Market testing before committing to hard tooling
- Low-volume production where mold cost isn’t justified
- Parts that need to look and feel like injection molded plastic
How We’re Different From a “Manufacturer”
We’re not a machine shop. We’re not a molder. We’re the engineers who sit between you and the manufacturer — and that matters because:
- We design for the process. Your part is optimized for the specific manufacturing method before we ever send it out for quoting. This eliminates the back-and-forth where the shop says “we can’t make this” and you go back to your designer.
- We manage the vendors. Quoting, purchase orders, timeline management, quality inspection, and shipping. You deal with one team — us.
- We catch problems early. Our engineers review first articles, check dimensions, and verify that what you received matches what was designed. If it doesn’t, we handle it.
- We own the full chain. Design → prototype → test → manufacture → deliver. No handoffs between disconnected companies.
Typical Production Timeline
| Phase | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Design & engineering | 1–4 weeks |
| 3D printed prototype | 24–48 hours |
| Design revision (if needed) | 3–5 days |
| Tooling procurement | 3–8 weeks (molds), 1–3 weeks (machining) |
| First article / samples | 1–2 weeks |
| Production run | 2–6 weeks |
Total from concept to production parts: 8–16 weeks typical. We’ve done it in 4 weeks for urgent projects.
Ready to Move From Prototype to Production?
Tell us where you are in the process. Even if you’re still at the napkin-sketch stage, we can map out the path to manufactured parts and give you a realistic timeline and budget.
info@partsnap.com · 214.449.1455