What is the difference between soft tooling and hard tooling?

Soft tooling uses aluminum or P20 steel, machined in 3-7 days at 60-80 percent less cost. Hard tooling uses tool steel for production-grade dies lasting 1-5 million parts.

How many parts should I order for a prototype stamping run?

For most programs, 100-500 pieces is the sweet spot. This provides enough for dimensional validation, material testing, and assembly trials.

Can prototype stamped parts be used for FDA or CE submissions?

Yes, but only if produced under ISO 13485 conditions with full material certifications and dimensional traceability reports.

How do I transition from prototype to full production?

Choose a supplier offering both prototype and production stamping. Use soft tooling for prototypes, then build production hard tooling using validated prototype data.

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