We have much experience with hardware prototyping of plastic parts, metal parts and electronic parts. Electro-mechanical prototypes typically require software prototyping, which we also have much experience with.
We are confident we can deliver rapid prototyping solutions for you. The following sections outline some key phases.
Our core business is focused on projects that have a break-even point, such as resale via mass production. To learn more about this see our page on Brisbane New Product Development.
Product Design Phase (Computer modeling from scratch or 3D scanning)
During this phase we assess your requirements to determine if we are best to design your model from scratch using 3D CAD tools, 3D animations tools, or perform a 3D scan an mock up model.
While 3D scanning sounds like an easy option, it is not perfect, and requires much cleaning up of the model. Further it produces a file with point cloud data, which then must be converted to a typical CAD file (e.g. .igs, .stp, and/or .stl). It is because of these reasons, it is generally quicker to create the design from scratch (unless the target requirement is just to reprint the scanned object without any additional design features - which is a service we're not keen on providing).
In terms of electronics - generally we design custom electronics to get the unit cost down, but in some cases we might use off-the-shelve electronics (e.g. Proof-of-concept prototype).
Product Prototyping Phase
Plastic mechanical parts will likely be 3D printed via various methods such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) or CNC'ed in some cases. The material options are kinda endless from rigid to rubbers, such as ABS, PLA, Polycarbonate (PC), Acrylic (PMMA), PET, PEEK, Polyamide aka Nylon (PA), Glass reinforced nylon (PA66+GF), Polyurethane (PU), Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl Chloride (PCV), Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), PEBA 2301, Nitrile Rubber (NBR), Polytetrafluoroethylene aka Teflon (PTFE) and more. There are also various finish options such as transparent, transulent, colours, electro-plating, reflective mirror, and screen-printing graphics.
Metal mechanical parts can be 3D printed also, however in our opinion CNC is still the better option. The material options are also kinda endless such as aluminum (AL), steel, stainless steel (SS), brass, etc. There are also various finish options such as blackening, electro-plating (Chrome-plating, Nickel-chrome plating, Zinc-plating, Galvanizing), anodized (black, matte clear), and chromating conversion.
We've also made prototypes using materials such as Carbon Fiber, Fibreglass, Glass wool, DuPont, Vectran, conductive thread, and look forward to playing with Graphene one day.
Electronic parts will involve manufacturing of bare PCBs, then assembling PCB surface-mount (SMT) and through-hole (THT) components via soldering methods such as a stencils, reflow oven, IR heat lamp, hotair rework station, soldering iron, etc.
Hardware bugs are likely, and we'd hack things to make the working prototype. During this process we'll make notes on the design changes required for the next revision.
Information About Brisbane
Brisbane Business Boost: Partnering with COLETEK for Local Growth
In the vibrant city of Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, local businesses are the lifeblood of our thriving economy. As a community, we've come to expect a certain level of excellence from those who serve and support us. That's why COLTEAK has made it their mission to be an integral part of this ecosystem – providing trusted guidance and expertise for businesses like yours.
As a national Australian company with its roots in Brisbane, COLETEK understands the unique challenges and opportunities that come with operating a local business in our city. With years of experience working alongside entrepreneurs and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) across various industries, we've developed a deep understanding of what drives success. Our team is dedicated to helping you overcome hurdles, identify new paths for growth, and thrive in the ever-evolving Brisbane landscape.
What sets COLETEK apart is our unwavering commitment to innovation, trust, and community engagement. We're not just a company – we're your partners in progress, working tirelessly behind the scenes to empower local businesses to reach new heights. Whether you're looking to expand your operations, streamline processes, or simply gain a competitive edge, our experienced professionals will work closely with you to craft tailored solutions that address your specific needs and goals.
As a Brisbane-based business ourselves, we truly get what it means to be part of this dynamic city's fabric. We understand the value of strong relationships, reliable support networks, and collaboration. That's why we're dedicated to being an active, engaged member of our local community – contributing to initiatives that benefit the people and businesses that make Brisbane such a special place.
When it comes time to take your business to the next level, do yourself a favor and reach out to COLETEK. Our doors are always open to new opportunities, and we're eager to help you write the next chapter in your entrepreneurial journey. Why not start now? Contact us directly at Contact Us to begin exploring how our expertise can benefit your business.
Our Clients
Rapid 3D Prototyping for Brisbane – Amazing Customer Testimonials
I had an external hard drive containing valuable data that quit working. I thought everything was lost. I used the services of COLETEK to restore the contents of my drive and i was able to retrieve everything. I would not hesitate to use COLETEK for hard drive recovery.
I consulted COLETEK for some work, commencing in 2014, and haven’t looked back. The project was very important to me, and COLETEK not only saw that but exuded sincere enthusiasm about the project; they are attentive, and thorough in their research and development service. They are a wealth of information and advice, for many aspects of the entire engineering and commercialization space, and this has been invaluable to me. I look forward to continuing work with them long into the future!
An IT consultant confirmed that our hard drive had died and that he was not able to extract information from it as it was completely fried! The IT consultant recommended COLETEK to me, saying data recovery wouldn’t be cheap but it was our only option other than to attempt to reconstruct months of MYOB (and other) data. Luke was easy to deal with and managed to recover virtually all of the information on the hard disc within a few days. Fantastic work!! Luke, you saved us miles of heartache!!
We engaged COLETEK to conduct a series of research projects on robotics and we very pleased with their technical skill, creative thinking and hard work. If you need to prototype a complex technical idea, they are a great partner to work with.
COLETEK has assisted on a variety of last-minute 3d printing overflow tasks for various projects. I've always found them to be very responsive to my needs and turned around urgent work in shortest possible time frame. I wouldn't hesitate to use or recommend COLETEK for any future design and/or 3d printing requirements.
We met with Luke Cole from COLETEK and very quickly realised that he was very knowledgeable in robotics and prototyping. What separates his company from the rest, is that he had a unique value proposition - COLETEK offers a tele-operated / robotic unit for rent and with the flexibility to be modified to build proof-of-concepts. That unit lowered both the cost and time for us to produce a video showing a very challenging concept. In general COLETEK's service was great value. We would recommend them - they will get it done.
You can rest assured, knowing that you are about to invest in a great service delivered by absolute professionals. COLETEK are extremely knowledgeable and deliver timely service with a courteous and customer centric approach. I originally employed COLETEK to assist with security camera installation but have since asked their advice on a number of innovative related matters, always with a solution. If you need a team of top tier consultants and service providers, for any technology-based project, then you have come to the right place.
Luke and the team do a amazing job. Extremly happy from start to finish
I would thoroughly recommend COLETEK they provided me with excellent feedback and engineering knowledge with regards to our idea. They also have continued to help us with what direction we should take and introduced us to other professionals that have also guided us. I suggest anyone who has been thinking of something they would like to pursue should contact them to get the most realistic approach of making it successful.
In July 2012, my hard drive died, and with it all my data, treasured photos etc. COLETEK was able to recover the data of my old hard drive for me - it had damaged platters so an extensive data recovery process was required. The service was great and fast, Luke came by within 24 hours to do a quick analysis and was then able to proceed with the recovery within days. We were so happy to get all our data back!
After approaching COLETEK with a few sketches of a plumbing tool I had in mind Luke and I immediately bounced a few ideas around. Leaving things with Luke he quickly produced some 3D images and ideas we subsequently used. Before long COLETEK produced an operational 3D printed prototype of the tool. I was then able to use this prototype to seek funding for further research and development.
We worked with Luke from COLETEK to develop a prototype for a new venture. Luke was able to give us practical advice on how to execute the project inline with our budget that was super useful. What has been endearing, is that even after the build was complete, Luke continues to touch base with us offering help to keep the momentum of the project going forward.
I would like to thank Luke and his staff at COLETEK for the knowledge, service and reliability that they provided. The security camera system that was installed is exactly what I was after. I would definitely recommend COLETEK to all my friends and family if they require a system. Thanks again Luke. You are a true professional in your field.
Very reliable, professional and knowledgeable. In our office were we all amazed by Luke's knowledge of IT and how much he know about different IT issues, specially about the IP cameras. We recommend their services and we will always use their services in the future.
I was very pleased with the installation of security cameras by COLETEK. So easy to deal with, very prompt with email replies. Service was excellent. Would highly recommend COLETEK to anyone wanting their products.
Highly recommended for COLETEK's service! Reasonable price and express service! We have two back up external hard drives at home and for some reason both of them were corrupted (later found out it’s due to some sort of electrical surge??). Both drives contained over 10 years of valuable technical works, numerous photos from our pre-kids travel days, as well as photos and videos of our first born! We tried another company but only recovered around 55% of the data and it costed a FORTUNE! Contacted COLETEK, explained the problems and received my recovered data within 14 days of initial contact (it wasn’t an urgent case). I was over the moon when I was able to locate a technical piece of work that I’ve done 15 years ago, and of course videos and photos of our first born.
We recently engaged the services of COLETEK to perform some penetration testing on our systems. We found Luke flexible and accommodating with our specific needs. Luke provide what we needed to show our clients our security measures with our systems. I would have no hesitation in recommending Luke.
Luke from COLETEK has assisted us on a number of occasions and has always been helpful, courteous and understanding of our needs. There was an instance when timing was of the essence and Luke was able to prioritise our job to ensure we weren't affecting our customers in a negative way. He is highly recommended.
In the development of our new product Smart Syphon we had a tight deadline to launch the commercial version of our product and experienced some issues with our drawings. Luke and his team dealt with the issues, worked through the week-end and delivered a quality outcome on time.
We used COLETEK on a small project involving mechanical and electronic design aspects as well as software development. COLETEK understood our requirements at the outset and worked to accommodate our needs. The whole process was professionally conducted and we highly recommend COLETEK
Founded in 2001, we are a multiple award winning, highly experienced multidisciplinary company specialising in lean product development through rapid prototyping - transforming ideas from concept to life. Our industry-leading team combines deep expertise, cutting-edge technology, and advanced equipment to validate emerging ideas—transforming them into market-ready hardware and software solutions.
Our experience dates back to the 1990s with ANU "Robotics Systems Lab", CSIRO, NICTA (aka Data61), Seeing Machines, Location Aware Technologies, and Hemisphere GPS (aka BEELINE). For over 10 years now, we've been focused on validating R&D and taking ideas to commercialisation.
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