product development - Photofab

Product Development with Photofab


The UK is one of the world leaders in design and development. Photofab is proud to support this sector, offering many options for designing and bringing a product into reality. Product development must move more quickly than ever, with time to market being one of the most important factors for OEMs.

Photofab help leading companies every day to reduce development lead times and costs, through our outstanding chemical etching process.


With the use of the Chemical Etching process and our universal form tooling both piece part and tooling costs can be kept to a minimum allowing small volume development at very low cost. Full traceability of material and process control along with design / customer confidentiality give our customer the confidence to discuss their design requirements in detail.

For more information on how we can reduce your costs & improve lead time contact our dedicated account managers on 01480 226699 or email enquiries@photofab.co.uk.

Download our brochure to learn more about product development with Photofab:

product development - Photofab
product development - Photofab

Lead Times that enable fast development

Photofab offer flat parts in flat parts in as little as 24 hours, with formed parts in 3 days with our rapid service. These lead times can often even be reduced to help companies on very tight schedules. The Chemical Etching process allows customers to produce a variety of products of the same material and thickness on the same graphic tool. Further modifications to the initial design concepts are at reduced costs and very easy to carry out, this eases the development engineers concerns on cost and time when trying to “get the design right first time”.

A huge range of parts from A-Z

  • Aerials
  • Apertures
  • Battery Contacts
  • Connectors
  • Contacts
  • Diaphragms
  • Elements
  • Encoders
  • Filters
  • Flat Springs
  • Formed Components
  • Gaskets & Seals
  • Grills & Meshes
  • Instrument Dials
  • Instruments
  • Lids
  • Masks
  • Plates
  • Screens
  • Screen Cans
  • Shims
  • Sieves
  • Spacers
  • Springs
  • Stencils
  • Surgical Blades
  • Washers

Prototyping and beyond

Prototyping is perhaps the most critical part of product development. Being able to iterate rapidly until a final, functional design is achieved is essential for a successful prototyping process. Chemical etching is the ideal process for rapid prototyping, as many designs can be printed on a single sheet of metal. As well as this, our engineers can help bring your designs to life through their skillset.
We can work with you to bring designs from concepts into reality and have done so for many of our customers over the year. Once prototyping is complete, we can move your design into mass production with ongoing, stable supply you can rely on.

DEDICATED engineering

Photofab understands the importance of skilled engineering when designing components and putting them into production. Therefore, we have heavily invested in a dedicated secondary engineering unit, the aim of this is to offer an even greater service and flexibility to our customers.

Originally set up to provide an in-house solution to support the etching division, it has proven so popular with our customers that Photofab are now offering toolroom, forming and finishing as stand-alone services. This means our customers now have access to a new level of flexibility – enjoying the convenience of full-service manufacture or pick and choose services to suit them. It truly is a complete service from Photofab.

Photofab continues to offer cutting-edge services and outstanding lead times, and we can do so because of continuous investment in our people and our processes, leading to class-leading output and lead times – including our rapid 24 hour turnaround service.

product development - Photofab

The benefits of
working with Photofab

We are world leaders in the development of photochemical technology to produce intricately shaped components. We have produced over 70,000 different components over the years and are highly regarded for our chemical etching process. Our engineers at Photofab offer many services that you can find here, and will offer advice to improve the product and reduce the costs.

Photofab 24h quotes

24-hour quotation service

Photofab account managers

Dedicated account managers

Photofab rapid manufacturing

Rapid manufacturing service

Photofab cost-effective

Cost saving stock of uni-tooling

Photofab etch fold

Etched fold lines for tool-free forming

Photofab chain management

Full manufacturing service and supply chain management

Photofab support

Access to manufacturing and technical advice and expertise

Photofab accreditation

Quality accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and SC21 Bronze

Photofab customer service

The Photofab difference


One of the key reasons Photofab enjoy its customer retention and longevity is the team of dedicated account managers. This ‘single point of contact’ throughout the whole process, ensures a personal service, and pride in the quality and reliability of the entire Photofab service.

Customers rely on their dedicated contacts’ understanding and in-depth knowledge of their specific requirements and know the highest standards will always be met using the most efficient and cost-effective methods.

This consistent customer service is the foundation of our customer loyalty and is maintained throughout every department and every stage of production. Put us to the test for your next project and call one of our account managers on 01480 226699 or use our customer enquiry form, we would love to hear from you.


start your production journey today

If you are looking to find a complete service include dedicated engineering to design and implement your solution, get in touch with us. You’ll be given an account manager who is always on hand to advise and take care of everything for you. Call Photofab on 01480 226699 or contact us now to see how Photofab can add an extra dimension to your manufacturing project. Keep up to date by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

TAKE A LOOK AT OTHER

SECTORS PHOTOFAB Supplies


Chemical etching for electronics

Electronics

Currently, 90% of industry uses electronics to advance the functionality of their products – showing the scale of demand for intricate electronics products.

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Chemical etching for the optical sector

Optical

Photofab are highly experienced within the optical sector. The most typical components we produce for optical use are encoder discs and actuators.

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Renewable energy

Renewables & renewable energy

Chemical etching is a clean, environmentally friendly manufacturing process that produces minimal waste and has a low carbon footprint.

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Chemical etching for communications sector

Communications

Chemical etching can be a crucial process in the manufacture of communications equipment.

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Photofab chemical etching for the life sciences sector

Life Sciences

Photofab is proud to offer components vital to the life sciences sector in a cost-effective manner through our chemical etching services.

Find out more
Chemical etching for product development

Product Development

The UK is one of the world leaders in design and development. Photofab is proud to support this sector, offering many options for designing and bringing a product into reality.

Find out more
Chemical etching for aerospace

Aerospace and Defence

Photofab have an established background in meeting the needs of the Aerospace and Defence sectors. The chemical etching process is ideal for producing components that are used in critical applications.

Find out more
Photofab chemical etching for the medical sector

Medical

Chemical etching offers a cost-effective way to mass produce small, intricate components for use in devices such as ventilators, but also in many other medical devices.

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Chemical etching for automotive

Automotive

Photofab are a specialist supplier to the automotive industry. Chemical etching is an ideal solution for the manufacture of certain specialist automotive parts.

Find out more

product development - Photofab

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