Currently, the prototype industry is experiencing the transition from old to new models, facing multiple development challenges.
Firstly, market competition is intensifying, with frequent low-price cut-throat competition. There are numerous enterprises in the domestic prototype industry, and product homogeneity is severe in the mid-to-low-end market. Most small and medium-sized manufacturers still rely on traditional manual and CNC machining processes with low thresholds, lacking core technological barriers. They can only compete for orders by lowering prices, resulting in continuously shrinking profit margins, and even accepting orders below cost price, forcing some enterprises to sacrifice product quality to maintain operations, further lowering the overall reputation of the industry.
Secondly, the cost of technological iteration is high, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lack the strength to upgrade. The research and development of high-precision prototypes requires the procurement of professional 3D printing equipment and paid access to industrial design software. The price of a single industrial-grade 3D printing device can reach hundreds of thousands of yuan, and coupled with the cost of professional technical talent training, it is unaffordable for small and medium-sized prototype factories. At the same time, the prototype industry mainly focuses on customized small-batch orders, making it difficult for enterprises to amortize research and development costs through large-scale production. Most manufacturers can only maintain traditional processing modes, making it difficult to enter high-end markets in high-precision fields such as aerospace and medical.
Thirdly, environmental compliance pressure has soared, and operating costs have increased. With the continuous tightening of domestic environmental protection policies, the cost of handling dust, wastewater, resin, and plastic waste generated during prototype production has increased significantly. Traditional prototype processing relies on cutting and grinding processes, with raw material utilization rates of less than 30%, generating a large amount of solid waste. Enterprises need to invest in upgrading environmental protection equipment and establishing waste disposal systems, and some small prototype factories face the risk of closure due to difficulties in meeting standards.
Fourthly, industry awareness is insufficient, and value is underestimated. Most downstream customers regard prototypes as simple “samples”, ignoring their core value in product design verification and structural optimization. They excessively drive down the price of prototype production, forcing prototype manufacturers to reduce research and development investment and fall into a vicious cycle of “low price, low quality”. At the same time, some enterprises’ products lack precision and delivery delays, leading to low overall trust in the industry. High-quality prototype manufacturers find it difficult to obtain reasonable premiums based on their technological advantages.
