Your Checklist for Finding the Right Prototyping Partner
You’re ready to start your prototyping journey, but you need a manufacturing partner you can trust—one who understands prototyping and delivers high-quality prototypes.
Summit CNC is that prototyping partner. Located in beautiful Colorado, our family-owned-and-operated machine shop produces CNC machined prototypes for diverse industries, from aerospace to medical to R&D.
If you’re looking for a frictionless experience with a shop that knows your needs and can also offer valuable Design for Manufacturing (DfM) feedback when needed, your search is over.
What to Look for When Requesting Prototype Machining Services
Prototypes serve specific purposes depending on your industry, the final application, and how far you’ve already traveled down the design path for your part or product. The prototyping services at Summit CNC ensure the following:
1. Quick Turnaround and Response Times
When you reach the prototyping phase, you need a responsive manufacturing team who communicates well and can produce your prototype to the proper specifications on-time. We understand the tight deadlines engineers and OEMs are up against when working to bring a product to market.
Because we specialize in prototyping services and low-volume production, we’re equipped for agility and efficiency, project after project.
2. Precision Tolerances
Prototyping is both exciting and challenging because a shop is seeing a part for the very first time and must determine how to manufacture it to spec using the minimal amount of materials ordered.
You need a prototyping partner who will confidently get your parts right the first time, achieving all your specifications and accurately. Summit CNC holds standard tolerances of +/- 0.005” and can consistently achieve precision tolerances of +/- 0.001” or better.
These are just a few of the expert tools and processes we utilize to help ensure tight tolerances on even the most challenging features:
We have high-speed precision machining centers with advanced lookahead capabilities.
We achieve cutting accuracy even at high feed rates by using hydraulic chuck tool holders.
We minimize waste and control costs by setting tool wear offsets at each CNC machine’s controller.
We use precision measuring equipment to verify the accuracy of every critical feature—on and off the machine.
And if we don’t get something right—for any reason—we’ll take the appropriate courses of action to resolve it accurately and efficiently.
3. Extensive Range of Materials
Because our customers serve a range of industries, including medical, defense, and aerospace, we’re adept at working with many types of materials.
For CNC machined prototypes, Summit CNC sources high-performance metals and plastics. From metals like aluminum, steel, and titanium to plastics like HDPE, Delrin, and PEEK, we can procure most materials in a reasonable amount of time.
4. Specialty-Focused on High-Precision, Low-Volume Parts
Unlike some machine shops that have minimum part quantity requirements for quote generation and orders, Summit CNC specializes in small runs of 1-100 for prototype machined parts.
As low-volume specialists, we’re purpose-driven to ensure exceptional quality for every single part. To us, this means:
Collaborating closely with you and your team to understand your goals and priorities
Innovating continuously to maintain top-of-the-line equipment and processes
Prioritizing locally sourced and American-made raw materials as much as possible
Providing DfM feedback and guidance as needed to ensure superior results
5. Advanced CMM Inspection Capabilities
When your prototype requires critical tolerances or includes GD&T specifications, you need a machine shop that will deliver.
Summit CNC uses a best-in-class benchtop coordinate measuring system (CMM) from Keyence that allows us to verify your precision tolerances, create verification documentation, and generate First Article (FAI) and CMM inspection reports.
Summit CNC: Your Ideal Partner for Prototyping Services
Prototypes are more than simply a focus area for our Denver machine shop; they are a passion! Our team is inspired and motivated by each one-of-a-kind part and project, and you’ll see the results of our expertise in our superior manufacturing and high-touch customer service.
Use our secure, encrypted, ITAR-compliant Smart Quote System and get a quote from us.