On-Demand Prototyping Network Shortens Development Cycles

Fictiv (San Francisco, California) is a newly formed online platform aimed at transforming the hardware development process by giving small businesses and enterprises quick access to prototyping technology. The company’s network of 3D printing and CNC machines enables organizations to fabricate hardware prototypes. Fictiv claims to reduce hardware development cycles for engineers and designers from weeks to days.

Users’ uploaded part designs are routed to available machines in Fictiv’s network of vetted vendors. The platform is designed to enable customers to focus their efforts on design and engineering challenges, streamlining the product development process and saving time. The platform can provide 3D-printed prototypes delivered in 24 hours, and CNC machined parts in three days, the company says. This benefits small businesses by increasing speed to market, and large businesses by speeding design iteration.

The company claims to automate the prototyping process by optimizing machine capacity to support faster, on-demand fabrication of parts. The distributed approach is said to support local manufacturing ecosystems by helping quality vendors fill excess capacity. As the manufacturing industry shifts toward more localized models, Fictiv is building the infrastructure needed to enable a distributed, agile manufacturing economy.