Metal Prototyping & Product Development

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Prototyping metal based components, parts and assemblies

Overview

At Universal Fabrications, we pride ourselves on our prototyping and product development capabilities, tailored to meet the unique needs of our OEM manufacturing customers.

Our comprehensive service combines design expertise with practical manufacturing insights, ensuring seamless integration from concept to production. With a focus on efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness, we collaborate to bring customer concepts to life with precision and reliability.

We pride ourselves on delivering tangible results that drive success in competitive markets.

metal prototype part on design and development drawings

Our Expertise

Design Optimisation

We rigorously optimise processes to enhance manufacturability, identifying potential issues early in the design phase, stripping out unnecessary cost and weight through design simplifications.

Advanced CAD/CAM Software

Our team utilises the latest CAD/CAM software to create highly detailed and accurate designs, ensuring compatibility with manufacturing processes and minimising errors.

Prototyping Services

Our in-house prototyping capabilities allow for rapid iteration and refinement of designs, enabling quick validation of concepts and accelerated product development cycles.

Material Selection Expertise

We offer guidance and expertise in selecting the most suitable materials for each project, considering factors such as durability, cost, weight and performance requirements.

Design for Assembly (DFA) Analysis

Our DFA analysis ensures that designs are optimised for efficient assembly, minimising labour costs and simplifying production processes.

Cost Analysis and Value Engineering

We conduct comprehensive cost analyses and value engineering assessments to identify opportunities for cost savings without compromising quality or performance.

Collaborative Approach

We foster close collaboration with our customers throughout the design process, ensuring that their vision and requirements are fully understood and integrated into the final product.

FAQs about our Prototyping Services

Universal is able to weld parts and fabricate assemblies up to an overall size of 10m x 6m x 4m with a weight of up to 10 Tonnes. We have extension experience fabricating vehicle chassis for the military and specialist vehicle manufacturers and providers. 

Our lead Project Engineers are Metal Manufacturing Experts with decades of experience overcoming heat distortion challenges. For each welding project a Welding Jigs & Fixtures specialist designs and manufacturers welding fixtures to hold parts to the correct dimensions post welding. Additionally, as Universal is able to carry out Laser Welding, MIG & TIG Welding and Robotic Welding we are fully able to select the most appropriate welding process and weld types for the requirement. This covers such considerations as the material type, its thickness, weld penetration, aesthetics alongside adherence to the critical dimensional requirements. 

Yes. Universal Fabrications has a Precision Engineering team with 3, 5 and 5 axis CNC Milling Machines to machine the part or assembly, post fabrication. Having Precision Machining, Fabrication and Assembly capability enables us to be best placed to manufacture the complete product requirement. 

Universal is able to offer the complete range of design for manufacturing services. This coupled with our extensive manufacturing facility enables us to support our customers with both their prototyping and scaled manufacturing requirements. The first step is for us to understand your immediate and longer terms requirements . To help with this get in touch so we can arrange one of our lead engineers to have an initial discussion with you. Given the nature of these projects we typically sign NDA’s to kick start the sharing of information.

Our welding team are coded to BS EN ISO 15613, BS EN ISO 9606-1, BS EN 9606-2, AWS D17.1m (Class B), BS EN287-1 standards and we operate to BS EN ISO 3834-2. In addition to this, we offer adherence to customer specific coded welding requirements whereby we certify the welder and the process being undertaken. We do this certification through Zurich Testing Laboratories. 

Prototyped Autonomous Commercial Vehicle Chassis in metal manufacturing UK company
Prototyped Autonomous Commercial Vehicle Chassis

Get in touch if you would like to discuss how our expertise in prototyping manufacturing can support you.

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