• Introduction
• Three Dimensional Product Development
• Rapid Prototyping

Introduction

Prime Function is a small but successful consultancy established in 1981. A mark of this success is that we are one of the very few consultancies which has created a product that has been awarded the British Plastics Federation’s prestigious Horner Trophy.

Although the core of our business has been in product design such as this, our expertise in the area of creative problem solving has also resulted in work in the fields of exhibition and point-of-sale displays.

There are of course many product design consultancies world-wide and so it is difficult for potential clients to differentiate between one and the next. Because of this, a few years ago we decided to specialise in certain key skills. This has meant the tailoring of the direction of our business into the less commonly catered for but vital areas of three dimensional product development/modelmaking and rapid prototyping.

Three Dimensional Product Development

Our experience of what we define as ‘three dimensional product development’ differs from the usual project stages in product design. The conventional approach is that conceptual work is followed by a development stage. This is then followed by the production of full technical drawings and then finally models and/or prototypes are made.

It has been our experience with a number of our clients (including BrinTech International for whom the above product was designed) that they readily welcome the opportunity to reverse the last two stages. Having a fully finished working model or prototype in their hands during or immediately after the design development stage gives them a significant advantage. It enables them to test the reactions of both their sales force and their potential customers to the proposed new product before committing to the inevitably high expense of detailed 2D and 3D CAD work.

This way of working requires an ‘on the hoof’ problem solving ability coupled with a method of creative thinking that can develop sophisticated assemblies in a workshop environment without the benefit of detailed working drawings. It is a method of working in which we believe we excel.

Rapid Prototyping

Until recently the biggest problem for developers of new injection moulded plastic products has been the non-existence of a step between a one-off model and the commitment to the expense of production injection mould tooling.

Fortunately this problem can now be solved by the modern rapid prototyping process of vacuum casting. This is a facility that we have here on site. Using stereo laser lithography or handmade models created by ourselves, low quantity runs of plastic production quality components are now possible which are both time and cost effective. An example of this is the Cybermind Virtual Reality headset illustrated below.

So get in touch with us if you want the inestimable advantage of dealing with just one supplier where you can source product design, problem solving ability and low volumes of functional plastic components. It's a winning combination!