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How to Write an Engineering Requirements Document

The Product Requirements Document (PRD aka Product Requirement Document) is a familiar term to most engineers. Typically, we get the PRD from a product manager; it tells us what to build but not how to build it. But let’s face it, it’s probably better that way. Engineers hate being told how to implement an idea — that’s the fun […]

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Product Study: Cost-Effective Medical Injection Molds for Lower Volumes

The Challenge: Manufacturing Process Tradeoffs for Medical Product Development Plastic injection molding (IM) is ideal for high-volume manufacturing, but not all medical injection molders can provide tooling that is cost-effective for functional prototypes and low-volume production (LVP.) As a result, medical product designers may be forced to use another process during these stages of the […]

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Creating Involute Gears in CAD

Say you’re 3D printing a robot, and you’re designing a sweet gearing system to make your robot move smoothly. You can choose to 3D print or CNC machine involute gears for simple and reliable incorporation in your robot design. What to do about the fact that most CAD programs don’t have a “create involute gears” button? Welp, you’ll […]

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Fictiv Donates $10,000 in Tight-Tolerance, High-Quality CNC Parts for UC Berkeley’s Formula SAE Electric Race Vehicle

Donation enabled UC Berkeley engineering students access to highly complex, machined parts at a fraction of the standard amount of time and cost   SAN FRANCISCO, June 27, 2022 – Fictiv, the leader in high-quality, on-demand manufacturing recently congratulated Formula Electric at Berkeley, the electric vehicle team at the University of California, Berkeley, for successfully participating […]

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Prototyping and Low-Volume Production for Medical Devices & Applications

Prototyping for medical devices and applications produces functional samples for testing and evaluation. These samples can be used to advance a product through regulatory gates, or approval stages, but that’s not the only reason why medical prototyping is necessary. Designers can apply what they learn and make changes, including improvements for manufacturability. When prototyping is […]

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High-Speed Prototyping, High-Performing Parts

Why Automotive Companies Partner with Fictiv for Injection Molding Plastic materials were first used in the production of automotive parts as early as the 1940s and 1950s. Since then, plastic has only become more integral in automotive manufacturing and has slowly replaced metal as the material of choice. Everything from exterior parts like tail lights, […]

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Case Study: How Automotive Companies Can Achieve Precision Rapid Prototyping with Fictiv’s Injection Molding Services

The Challenge: Shortening Innovation Lead Times The automotive industry is highly innovative and competitive, which puts pressure on automakers to be both leading-edge and first to market. However, vehicle parts often go through dozens of iterations before the final part is deemed ready for mass production — requiring a speedy, efficient and cost-effective prototyping solution.  […]

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Pressure Testing CNC Machined, Cast Parts: Our Best Tips

Pressure testing, or leak testing, CNC machined, cast parts is a common functional test performed on parts and assemblies for the automotive, aerospace and medical industries. Read on to learn our best tips for pressure testing, including how it works, when to pressure test, pressure testing specifications and pressure testing methods.  What is Pressure Testing? […]

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How to Cut CNC Machining Costs

Known for a having a hardworking and meticulous nature, Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” While you probably aren’t reading this article for tree-felling advice, what Abe was getting at is that careful planning is important for any […]

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CNC Materials Series: Tips for CNC Machining Titanium for Medical and Aerospace Industries

Titanium (Ti) is a shiny metal with a high corrosion resistance and high strength. Titanium is impressively lightweight and biocompatible. Titanium is a transition metal with atomic number 22, period 4 and group 4 on the periodic table. It has a hexagonal crystal structure and two electrons in its fourth orbital, with an electron configuration […]