Most design guides assume high-volume, mass manufacturing. But when you only need 10–200 parts, your design approach should shift dramatically.
Low-volume production — for testing, pilot runs, niche products, early market entry, or bridge manufacturing — requires different decisions around materials, tooling, cost, finish, and production methods.
This is where designers can gain massive advantages by optimising early for low-volume.
Too small for injection moulding to be economical.
Too large for inefficient, slow prototyping methods.
Exactly the sweet spot for additive manufacturing, vacuum casting, and hybrid workflows.
You can prioritise faster iteration over complex tooling.
Part designs can afford to be updated between batches.
You can avoid mould splits, draft angles, ejector marks and other constraints of mass production.
Tolerances, geometry, and features can be far more flexible.
For low-volume, you can often avoid:
Steel moulds
Injection tooling
Multi-cavity moulds
Long lead times
3D printed masters for vacuum casting
Soft tooling (silicone moulds)
Modular jigs and fixtures made via AM
Design considerations for castability or printability
Your design becomes tooling-light, which:
Reduces upfront cost
Speeds up time-to-market
Gives freedom to experiment
Low-volume manufacturing is ideal for modular products.
Reduces cost by reusing standard components
Allows easier updates to individual sections
Helps separate cosmetic from structural elements
Enables multi-process workflows:
Printed core + cast outer shell
Machined bracket + printed housing
Break parts into assemblies that suit different manufacturing methods
Use standard fixings to avoid custom tooling
Allow outer components to change without affecting internal structure
In low-volume, you’re not restricted by:
Resin availability for injection moulding
High MOQs
Standardised moulding grades
Performance
Aesthetics
Cost
Speed
Post-processing compatibility
SLS / MJF nylon for durable end-use parts
SLA for cosmetic housings
Vacuum casting resins designed to mimic:
ABS
PC
PP
Elastomers (Shore A)
Wall thickness variation is more forgiving
You can choose materials for prototype → production consistency
Colour matching and textures become post-processing decisions
rather than moulding constraints
When designing for 10–200 units, always consider:
SLS/MJF scales well in batches
Vacuum casting scales until mould life ends (20–25 pulls per mould)
Machining scales with fixture optimisation
SLA scales for cosmetic components but not high-wear parts
Shared geometries across parts
Reduced complex internal features
Designing “future moulding ready” versions for later mass-production
Keeping options open to transition to injection moulding
For low-volume manufacturing:
Fewer parts = lower assembly time
Simple geometries = faster prints
Avoiding over-engineering = less post-processing
Split large designs into efficient printable sections
Think “what gets us to test or market fastest?”
Use AM for detailed features
Use casting for repeatability & finish
Design with minimal supports & less finishing work
Consolidate assemblies
Use standard components
Remove expensive-to-finish surfaces
Choose materials with good print efficiency
Ideal when you need:
Repeatable batches
Cosmetic-quality finishes
Strong, proof-of-concept housings
Elastomer or ABS-like cast components
Rapid design iteration + full production
AME-3D can support the entire journey:
Concept → CAD
Design for low-volume
Functional prototypes
End-use parts
Finishing
Short-run production with multiple processes in-house
Designing for low-volume production isn’t a cut-down version of designing for mass production — it’s a different discipline altogether.
When designers embrace the flexibility of AM and vacuum casting, they unlock:
Faster development
Lower costs
Better design freedom
A product that can get to market (or testing) far sooner
AME-3D sits right at the heart of that opportunity. Need help starting your project? Contact us today.