Sam Sattel
Working from Home? Harness On-Demand Manufacturing to Supercharge Your Projects.
While navigating new environments or working remotely, steering projects to the finish line can pose a challenge. Often, we are accustomed to using multiple on-site resources throughout. How do we fill in those production or manufacturing gaps when we’re displaced, or simply cannot keep pace with demand?
Luckily, the design process remains streamlined with the help of collaborative tools such as Fusion 360, which allows you to design how you want in all phases of the product development process, all on a single platform.
However, when it comes to manufacturing, businesses in need of support during increasingly remote times often consult on-demand manufacturers in these situations. These companies offer digital design tools, rapid prototyping, and machinery to customers. On-demand manufacturing, also known as cloud-based manufacturing, hinges on nationwide — or international — provider networks, making it easy to find critical parts and quickly increase production capacity. Hardware and software play essential roles in securing a stout supply chain.
Teams across your organization can knock out numerous essential tasks, even when your facility isn’t fully operational or at capacity. Here are our top on-demand manufacturer picks that help streamlines the process:
1. Proto Labs
Proto Labs offers a diverse suite of services — touting its minimal lead time as a significant benefit. If your products incorporate metal, plastic, elastomers, or liquid silicone rubber, Proto Labs has the tools to help. The company also provides custom color matching based on supplied samples or Pantone numbers.
Proto Labs Services
Proto Labs offers four core service categories:
- Injection molding
- Sheet metal fabrication
- CNC machining
- 3D printing
Each category has several sub-services. Proto Labs provides injection molding with multiple materials. They also offer CNC milling and turning. Laser sintering, stereolithography, digital light synthesis, and inkjet services are available (among others). Proto’s library of resources and guidelines is also extensive and includes crucial comparison charts.
Industries
Proto Labs offers an impressive level of customization across multiple industries. This includes mass personalization, custom prototyping, and parts manufacturing for the following industries:
- Medical
- Aerospace and defense
- Consumer electronics
- Automotive
- Industrial equipment
The company is poised to meet the demands of today’s device manufacturers. Digital manufacturing plays a crucial role in enabling these industrial services.
2. Xometry
Like Proto Labs, Xometry offers impressive lead times to customers made possible due to their vast network of 4,000 specialized manufacturers. Xometry can help you tackle almost any project as a result, nationwide, while upholding secure privacy practices. The company’s Instant Quoting Engine shares transparent timetables, pricing, and feedback.
Xometry Services
Xometry offers four main service types:
Additionally, Xometry can secure crucial materials for almost any application. Over 50 different finishing options are available for a multitude of devices, including popular processes like anodization, plating, adhesive applications, and coatings. Xometry has its own lineup of proprietary finishing services as well.
The company — thanks to its network — brings these services to organizations in all 50 states. It also guarantees high service quality, owing its expertise to numerous industrial certifications.
Industries
Xometry claims to offer solutions for every industry. They cater to startups and Fortune 500 companies. These industries are as follows:
- Aerospace and defense
- Automotive
- Consumer products
- Education
- Electronics and semiconductors
- Energy
- Hardware startups
- Industrial
- Medical and dental
- Robotics
- Supply chain and purchasing
That’s an impressive breadth of industries and projects covered. Your teams can feel confident that Xometry’s partners possess extensive knowledge, even in obscure niches.
3. Fictiv
Fictiv focuses on securing high-quality mechanical parts for companies at lightspeed. From prototyping to production, Fictiv can ship over 10 million parts in roughly 24 hours. Fictiv’s dashboard keeps order tracking, CAD drawings, and project quotes together in one place for simpler management.
Fictiv Services
Fictiv’s services are trusted by major organizations, including NASA, Ford, and Velodyne. The company also has an international presence, with headquarter locations in San Francisco and Guangzhou, China. Aside from eliminating your supply chain woes, Fictiv offers the following:
- CNC machining
- Injection molding
- 3D printing
- Urethane casting
Fictiv matches companies with over 200 partners to find the right production fit. Once a job is completed, Fictiv’s quality management process kicks in to ensure consistency and satisfaction. Files and drawings are anonymized for protection, and NDAs keep secretive information safe.
Industries
Fictiv serves clients in the following areas:
- Autonomous driving
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Optics
- Healthcare and robotics
Thankfully, the Fictiv management platform is compatible with all of these. The company offers company stories, blog posts, webinars, and hardware guides to customers. Customer stories are engaging and rich yet succinct.
Design before Manufacturing
Even before manufacturing begins, let the Fusion 360 collaborative design platform give you the tools you need to carry out your development process successfully. Then, check out how to make those designs with these top on-demand manufacturers.
Need to get started now? Start using Fusion 360 today:
