Prototype Development and Reverse Engineering for Metal Components
Wisconsin Metal Parts provides prototyping and reverse engineering services to support product development, part validation, and replacement component manufacturing. Whether you need pre-production prototypes for testing or need to recreate a part without existing documentation, our in-house capabilities allow us to deliver accurate, production-ready solutions. Our team works with customers to determine the most efficient path forward, balancing cost, lead time, and functional requirements.
Prototype Development Services
We produce pre-production prototypes for functional testing, fit validation, and process development using a wide range of in-house manufacturing capabilities. All prototype work is completed in-house, allowing for faster turnaround and tighter control over quality.
Depending on your project requirements, prototypes can be manufactured using:
Prototyping Approaches
We typically approach prototyping in two ways, depending on your goals:
Production-Intent Prototyping: Parts are produced using the same processes planned for production, such as die-stamping.
- Closely replicates final production conditions
- Ideal for validating tooling and manufacturing processes
- Typically involves higher tooling investment
Cost-Optimized Prototyping: Parts are produced using the most efficient method to achieve dimensional accuracy, regardless of final production process.
- Utilizes flexible methods such as laser cutting, Wire EDM, and CNC machining
- Reduces tooling costs and lead times
- Ideal for early-stage testing and design validation
We also utilize soft tooling and shared modular tooling systems to help minimize prototype tooling costs where applicable. Prototypes can also be used as samples for testing within larger assemblies, ensuring proper integration before scaling production.
Reverse Engineering Services
If you have a part but no drawings, we can provide complete reverse engineering services to recreate it. Our team can take an existing physical component and develop complete CAD models and part prints, enabling future production and repeatability.
We work with:
- Castings
- Stampings
- Weldments and sub-assemblies
If you do have a part, we can take measurements in our inspection systems and work backwards to create a Solidworks model and determine how best to replicate your part.
Quality Assurance & Compliance
Inspection requirements for prototyping and reverse engineering projects are tailored to customer needs. We are mindful of copyright and patent laws when replicating components. Wisconsin Metal Parts is ISO 9001:2015 certified and ITAR registered, with cybersecurity compliant to NIST SP800-171, ensuring all project data, including export-controlled files, remains secure.
Prototypes can prove out a challenging process before a production tool is made. They can also be used as samples for product testing or test fitting into larger assemblies. Often times the costs of a proto-type can be recovered in less costs to develop a production tool and shorter lead times to build the production tooling.
Inspection is driven by customer requirements, keeping quality and costs in balance. Typically a First Article is requested where all of the dimensions on your part print are measured and verified on an inspection report. Another option is to simply define the critical dimensions that are to be held thereby reducing the amount of inspection needed.
We would use a variety of inspection equipment including; CMM, Vision System, Laser Scanner and hand held measuring instruments to determine the size of the part and location of features. From there our design team would draw the part and create a model useable for manufacturing. Often times the most difficult part is defining what features are critical for the function of the part.
That will vary depending on the specific project and if the part needs to be replicated exactly or if we can make some cost savings improvements. We normally like to start the discussion finding out what the part is used for and the intended function? A sample part and seeing it in action is helpful.
We have partners that can perform material analysis from a small sampling of the parent material.