Molding & Prototyping
After the product structure diagram and functional circuit diagram design are completed, the mold and prototype manufacturing stage begins. First, the mold is fabricated. Depending on the design, the user interface module products often require the following molds: silicone hot-pressing mold, plastic injection mold, IMD mold, PCB manufacturing mold, test fixture, embossing mold, appearance stamping mold, screen printing screen, printing film, metal stamping mold, and functional test fixtures.
In the initial prototype trial stage, in order to save costs for the customer, we can also use 3D printing, CNC cutting, laser engraving, or prototype molds for some components to reduce the development cost. Once the structure and function of the prototype are confirmed, we will open the final mass production mold and manufacture the first sample for the customer to confirm again. After confirmation, we can then proceed with mass production.
During the mold and prototype manufacturing process, since the product is in the development stage, multiple modifications and refinements are often necessary until the required samples are manufactured. The engineers at LuphiTouch® has rich experience in the field of user interfaces and will try their best to avoid or reduce the number of repeated modifications during the prototype trial process, in order to shorten the delivery time of the samples.
Depending on the complexity and difficulty of the customer's user interface module projects, our development cycle may vary. The development cycle consists of the following parts:
● Initial structure design;
● Electronic design;
● Development of the functional control program;
● Manufacturing of the various component molds;
● Prototype trials;
● Final assembly and functional testing of the complete user interface module;
Usually speaking, dear clients, you can use our following development lead-time of the user interface part as the reference of the time table for your whole project development plan:
● For simpler human-machine interface module products, the development cycle is typically around 4-5 weeks.
● For more complex human-machine interface modules, the development cycle usually takes 5-7 weeks, or even longer.
● For human-machine interface products without functional control, such as standard membrane switches, silicone switches, membrane panels, touch screens, etc., the development cycle is relatively shorter, usually just 1-2 weeks.
● For human-machine interface module products containing an LCD display, the development cycle varies from 3-4 weeks to 5-6 weeks, depending on the complexity of the LCD display.