You know what your product should do and how it should feel. You just need someone to take it from an idea in your head to a real, physical thing you can hold, test, and sell. That is exactly what we do.
Single-feature products starting from $2,500
These are real products that started exactly the way yours is starting right now. One person. One idea. No factory. No engineering team. Each went from a sketch to a prototype to a business.
Example 1 — electronics product
An architect named Max Gunawan was frustrated by lamps fixed to one spot. He had no engineering background, just an idea and access to a maker space. Eight months of prototyping later, he had a lamp that unfolded from a hardcover book, lit by LED modules, powered by a rechargeable battery, and switched on simply by how far you opened the cover.
He launched on Kickstarter with a $60,000 goal. He raised $578,000 in two weeks. Every Shark on Shark Tank wanted in. Lumio now generates $5 million a year and is sold in MoMA and museum stores worldwide.
What this took: Industrial design, LED circuit integration, rechargeable battery, precision wood enclosure, and surface finishing. Exactly the kind of work we do.
Timeline: 6 to 9 months sketch to Kickstarter | Starting from $2,500
Example 2 — simple mechanical product
A woodworker in Wisconsin named Scott Fleming noticed the magnetic backsplash above his stove was wasted space. He glued magnets to a piece of wood and snapped it on. He was so nervous the idea already existed that he almost did not look it up.
When he found nothing like it online, he refined the design, switched to powder-coated steel, and made 50 units to test the market. That first small batch confirmed real demand. StoveShelf is now a $10 million Amazon business.
What this took: Industrial design, material engineering for magnetic strength and heat resistance, precision fabrication, and a small run to validate the market. That 50-unit first batch is exactly what our small batch service is built for.
Timeline: Prototype in 4 to 6 weeks | Starting from $2,500
Example 3 — consumer product
Aaron Krause invented a foam buffing pad for car detailing. When 3M bought his business, he nearly forgot a different sponge he had made as a side project. Cleaning garden furniture with it years later, he realized it performed unlike anything on the market.
Soft in warm water for gentle cleaning. Firm in cold water for tough scrubbing. The smiley face was not decoration — the eyes cleaned around utensils, the mouth cleaned flat surfaces. Function designed into the shape.
He went on Shark Tank, landed a $200,000 investment, and Scrub Daddy became the top-selling sponge on Amazon. Still is today.
What this took: Material science, mold design, injection mold tooling, and a small validation run. The geometry is entirely about manufacturing. This is DFM from day one.
Timeline: Prototype in 3 to 5 weeks | Starting from $2,500
Starting from
$2,500
single-feature product + materials
Our base rate is $25 per hour plus material costs. A single-feature invention starts at $2,500. Here is what moves the price from there:
Every quote is itemized line by line. You see exactly what you are paying for before committing to anything.
Here is what the work typically covers when we build a prototype for you.
Three steps. No engineering background required. No minimum order quantity.
01
A sketch, a photo, a product you saw online, or a description in your own words. We ask the right questions to scope your project clearly and accurately.
Deliverable: Project brief confirmed within 24 hours
02
We review your brief and send a line-by-line quote covering design hours, materials, fabrication, electronics, and finishing. You know exactly what you are paying before anything starts.
Deliverable: Itemized quote with timeline and milestone plan
03
A 50% deposit locks in your project. We send milestone updates at every stage — CAD review, prototype build, finishing — so you are never left wondering what is happening.
Deliverable: Physical prototype ready in 25 to 35 days
We do not just print your idea and hand it back. Every project goes through a real design and engineering process built around getting it right the first time.
Proportions, ergonomics, material selection, and aesthetic refinement. The goal is something that looks right, feels right, and is manufacturable at scale.
LED systems, sensors, rechargeable batteries, PCB layout, and firmware. We integrate electronics into the enclosure design so everything works together from the start.
Wall thicknesses, draft angles, undercuts, and assembly sequences checked and corrected before production. Catching problems early saves you thousands later.
You approve the work at each major milestone before we move forward. No surprises, no black boxes. Here is what that looks like in practice:
We pick the right method for your specific product. Most builds use a combination of two or more of these.
Wood, aluminum, rigid plastics. Tightest tolerances. Essential for precision fits, electronic enclosures, and any part that needs to interface with existing hardware.
Complex geometries, internal brackets, mounting structures, and concept validation. SLA resin gets close to injection-molded quality for visual prototypes.
Polyurethane, epoxy, and silicone mold casting for production-strength parts. Hand polishing, sanding, and painting so the final prototype feels like a finished product.
Typical timeline: 25 to 35 days for a single-feature prototype with finishing. Simpler builds can be faster.
Once your prototype is approved, we can run a small batch of 20 to 100 units. StoveShelf started with 50. Scrub Daddy started with a small run for QVC. This is the step that turns a prototype into a real business.
Small batch pricing is not optimized for bulk volume. The goal is to get your product into real customers hands, collect honest feedback, prove that people will pay for it, and find every manufacturing improvement before you commit to injection molds and mass production.
Starting from $500 for a simple 20-unit run.
Send us your idea — a sketch, a photo, a product you found online, or just a description. We will have a quote back to you within 48 hours.
“I came to PrototyperLab with a rough sketch and a photo I found online. Within two days I had a quote and a clear plan. Six weeks later I had a prototype that looked and felt like a finished product. I had no idea where to start before finding them.”
Sarah M.
Inventor and Kickstarter creator
“They caught two design problems in the first CAD review that would have cost me thousands to fix at production. The DFM process alone was worth every dollar. The prototype came out exactly as I imagined it.”
James R.
Entrepreneur, consumer product brand
Not at all. Bring us whatever you have: a sketch on paper, a photo of a product you like, a rough description, or a napkin drawing. We ask the right questions during the brief to fill in the gaps. You do not need any technical background to work with us.
A 3D print is just a shape. Our prototypes are engineered, finished, and built for manufacturing. We design for production from the start, which means correct wall thicknesses, proper tolerances, right material choices, and the right surface finish. We also provide DFM notes so your path to mass production is already mapped out when the prototype is complete.
Yes. Electronics integration is a core part of what we do. We handle PCB layout, firmware, LED systems, rechargeable battery integration, sensors, and wireless connectivity. The enclosure and the electronics are designed together so everything fits and works as a unified product.
Most single-feature invention prototypes are ready in 25 to 35 days. Simpler builds can be faster. Products with custom electronics or multi-part assemblies take longer and are scoped individually in your quote. We give you a specific timeline with every quote before you commit to anything.
We build improvement into our process from the start. If the prototype meets all agreed specs and you want further refinements based on testing, we provide a cost for those changes. If the issue is something we missed, there is no additional charge. Most clients go through two to three rounds of refinement before moving to small batch production.
Yes, and that is exactly the journey we are built for. Prototype first, then a small batch of 20 to 100 units to validate demand and gather real feedback, then mass production once you have confirmed the market is there. We handle all three stages and the DFM work we do from day one makes every stage cleaner and cheaper.
Have questions about payment terms, refunds, or shipping? Visit our full FAQ page.
Service
Run 20 to 100 units to validate demand and gather real customer feedback before committing to mass production.
Service
Full electronics and firmware development for connected products, smart devices, and embedded systems.
Service
Our industrial designers work from concept sketch to production-ready files, DFM-first from day one.