Design support

design support
Chair 4 life
2D Drawings to 3D CAD Model Conversions
design support
2D Drawings to 3D CAD Model Conversions

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Rapitypes offers one of the most comprehensive R&D design support services in the UK. We can manage an entire development program from receipt of the design concepts, through design engineering and data production, to tool design, mould-flow analysis and onwards to production, using some of the most experienced engineers in the UK.

Whether it’s a project emanating from the automotive industry, or the medical sector, involving transport and aerospace projects, or consumer products and special effects, Rapitypes can make a valuable contribution to the project.

We also source parts and special processes, and manage full scale production projects for our clients’ using UK and off-shore manufacturing partners, and we can design the shipping packaging and organise the logistics as well.

For further design strategy, design innovation, human factors design, and turnkey product development please contact our sister organisation Renfrew Group International.

Renfrew Group

ENGINEERING DESIGN

Rapitypes offer a comprehensive engineering design service. Our designers assist clients in basic ‘Design for Manufacture’, or readying a component for a particular manufacturing process such as injection moulding ormetal casting. We have recently assisted with the engineering of complex medical devices and equipment design, aircraft seating, water filtration equipment, podiatry appliances, vehicle air induction systems, home delivery boxes and a host of consumer product designs.

Rapitypes also offer an Engineering and Development Consultancy service in which our designers advise on competing technologies, whole life product modelling and carbon reduction techniques, conventional manufacturing issues and the impact of overseas sourcing to the design programme.

motorcycle-rendering
Hospital equipment engineering
design engineering

VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING

Virtual Prototyping is a process by which products and environments are created through computer generated modelling techniques. These are rendered to simulate photographic images of a product or component in its own environment. 3D models of photo-realistic quality can supplant actual photographs of real objects and scenes, and in some cases these images are all that’s required to make a professional judgment about a new product. Clients occasionally augment the physical modelling process with virtual prototypes.

The 3D models used to create these images can either be created from scratch or, as is often the case, can be imported from the client’s own 3D CAD Systems as IGES, STEP or native files. The environments themselves can be created from scratch, through modelling a scene, or by overlaying the model onto a photograph, and then adding environmental effects to create the illusion of reality.

Rapitypes can also deliver still images or animated sequence solutions through a mix of 2D and 3D software, for use in print and AV presentations.

2D-3D CONVERSION

To take full advantage of our range of services, our clients should submit a solid CAD model of the component. With 3D data, the entire process from quotation to final product is faster and reflects more accurately the design intent. For those without a design resource, Rapitypes can convert 2D data or even paper drawings, to a 3D solid CAD model. As part of the process we also recommended that a rapid prototype model is built to verify the geometry prior to data hand over.

REVERSE ENGINEERING

The absence of a CAD model or drawing is not an impediment, Rapitypes can ‘Reverse Engineer’ an original component or a model, by laser scanning the surface, and then reconstructing the component in 3D CAD as a solid model. Our ‘fixed’ surface data capture envelope is 3m x 6m x 2m, but our portable GOM system can capture much larger envelopes and this can also be carried out off-site or at our clients’ facility.

CAD

Rapitypes have a number of CAD software systems in-house including Pro Engineer, Rhino, Inventor, Alias and Delcam. We export and receive ProE, Catia, STL, IGES, STEP, DWG, DXF, IPT, 3DM and PRT files. Our extensive design engineering resource is on hand to assist with every aspect of product realisation including manipulation of scanned data and the associated downstream work required to produce useable CAD data. We also offer a CAD repair service where received files contain missing or corrupt surfaces.