7-Day Design to Production Challenge: Use Plastic instead of Metal... 

The Challenge

A Central Oregon manufacturer of commercial animal deterrent systems needed a new mounting bracket for a solar charge controller on their next-generation product.

Deadline: final production-ready parts in under 7 days.

Competitors were using multi-piece painted metal brackets:

• Prone to rust in outdoor environments

• Required separate nuts, washers, spacers, and secondary painting/powder coating

• Total lead time: 2–3 weeks minimum

Our Solution – Smarter Design, Fewer Parts, Zero Corrosion

We redesigned the bracket from the ground up for additive manufacturing and delivered production parts in 6 days:

• Day 1–2 – Designed a single-piece polymer bracket that eliminated 4 separate hardware items (loose nuts, lock washers, spacers, cover plates, and rivets)

• Integrated captive mounting bosses with heat-set threaded inserts molded directly into the ASA part → no loose hardware ever

• Built-in cable routing channels  — no extra brackets or screws needed

• Prototyped and field-tested in real Central Oregon weather

• Produced the first production batch in UV-stabilized black ASA (10+ year outdoor life, zero painting required)

Delivered to client on day 6 – beat the 7-day requirement with a day to spare.

Hard Cost Savings for the Client

• Eliminated 6 fasteners + 2 machined spacer plates per assembly

• Removed all painting/powder-coating steps forever

• Reduced per-unit hardware cost by ~68% on this bracket alone

• Assembly labor dropped from ~4 minutes to under 30 seconds (just snap the controller in and torque three screws)

Services Used

• Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM)

• Heat-set insert integration

• Rapid prototyping + same-week production

• UV-stable ASA for permanent outdoor use

• FREE Local delivery

Client Outcome

They launched on time with a cleaner, lighter, completely corrosion-proof bracket that costs dramatically less to build and install than a metal version. The client immediately moved additional mounting hardware to the same heat-set insert + ASA solution.

At Outlaw Prototyping, we don’t just 3D-print parts — we redesign them to remove cost, complexity, and corrosion from the equation… in days instead of weeks.

• Location: Sisters, Oregon

• Industry: Agricultural / Commercial Animal Deterrent Systems

• Turnaround: 6 days (beat 7-day deadline)

Ready to cut hardware count, eliminate painting, and slash assembly cost on your outdoor products?