Complete Fabrication is a prototype model maker in Whittlesford, near Cambridge, making prototypes since 1986. We offer product design and development, SLA, Carbon DLS and FDM 3D printing, CNC machining, vacuum casting, painting and finishing, and low-volume production for medical, robotics, aerospace and consumer product teams. For machined prototypes in metals and engineering plastics, see our CNC prototyping service.
Biocompatible, sterilisable resins such as Carbon MPU 100.
Fast enough to test, decide and move forward.
From print to production ready in hours.
We work between a promising CAD model and a prototype that has to survive testing. Our clients are in medical devices, defence, aerospace, automotive, industrial systems, electronics, robotics and consumer products. Before any machine starts, we agree the process, material and schedule, because the wrong process usually costs more time than it saves. Forty years of model making sits behind those calls. See our full rapid prototyping services.
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Built quickly, engineered properly.
Vacuum-cast polyurethane batches while your production tooling is being made.
Designed with manufacturing, assembly and use in mind.
A first-of-a-kind project exists nowhere else, so confidentiality protocols are standard here. If your organisation needs more, we will set it up: restricted-access workspaces, password-protected file sharing, NDAs for every team member who touches the job, and full audit trails. We work regularly in regulated sectors, including medical and defence, and we plan compliance into the project from the quote stage. Documents such as SOPs, Technical Agreements and Certificates of Conformity can be built into the job if you flag them when you ask for a quote.
We offer high-temperature materials on our Carbon DLS, FDM and SLA platforms, for example Carbon EPX 82 (HDT 130 °C) and PPA-CF filament (HDT 227 °C), alongside a range of vacuum casting resins. For the most demanding environments we CNC machine components from solid PEEK. Ask for the data sheets and check the thermal performance before we start.
We print certified biocompatible materials, such as MPU 100, on our Carbon 3D printers and offer equivalent resins for vacuum-cast batches. For surgical trials or skin-contact testing we supply the material data you need for your own clinical assessment.
If your project needs a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or a specific Technical Agreement, we write it into the job workflow. Certificates of Conformity (COC) for both manufacture and materials are standard, provided you flag the requirement at the quoting stage.
We apply logos by digital printing, which matches the durability of traditional screen printing with a much faster turnaround, and we also pad print, screen print and apply water-slide transfers or vinyl to suit the part. On curved surfaces a printer can’t reach, we apply manual rubdowns and seal them with a lacquer coat so the finish is presentation-ready.
We produce digital, self-adhesive labels in-house, cut to any custom shape your design requires. It’s a fast, integrated way to get your prototype looking like a finished product.
We design, print and assemble bespoke packaging so you can test the unboxing experience and shipping security. Fit and design are validated before you commit to high-volume production.
We build custom-sized wooden cartons with forklift batons and flight cases on casters. Every case is supplied with custom-cut foam inserts, so your prototypes arrive in the condition they left our workshop.
We provide practical CAD development and basic industrial design aimed at making your part easier and cheaper to produce. Because we also build the parts, we can flag likely failures before the job reaches the machine. We also work as the making partner for design consultancies.
Vacuum casting, CNC and Carbon DLS give you parts good enough for user trials and early market launches. For low-volume runs they are a faster, cheaper bridge to production than injection moulding tooling.
Yes. Our designers work to the processes we run in the workshop, so a design is made to suit production methods, not just to look right. That saves time and cost later.
Complete Fabrication Ltd, known as CompFab, is a prototyping and low-volume manufacturing company in Whittlesford, near Cambridge. We 3D print, CNC machine, vacuum cast, paint and assemble prototypes and small batches for product designers, engineers and manufacturers.
Yes. The company was incorporated in 1998 as Complete Fabrication Modelmakers Ltd and renamed Complete Fabrication Ltd in 2020. CompFab is the short name we use.
Since 1986, when David Kent founded the business after an apprenticeship in modelmaking and patternmaking. The limited company was incorporated in 1998, and we have completed more than 4,850 projects. Read our history.
David Kent founded the company and is a director, and Tom Davies-Kent is also a director. The people you speak to are the people making your parts; see our team.
Unit 4B Lion Works, Station Road East, Whittlesford, Cambridge CB22 4WL. The workshop is a two-minute walk from Whittlesford Parkway station, and we deliver overnight across the UK.
We have a team of 15, plus four regular contractors, covering 3D printing, CNC machining, vacuum casting, painting and finishing, and assembly.
Medical devices, defence, aerospace, automotive, industrial systems, electronics, robotics and consumer products. Many of our clients are product design consultancies and medical device teams.
Yes. We are ISO 9001 certified (certificate 7774, ISOQAR, UKAS), which covers our quality management system.
Yes. We are a Carbon Certified Production Partner, listed on Carbon's website, and were the second UK company to partner with Carbon. See Carbon 3D printing.
Our case studies include casework for Cambridge Consultants, the SAMBA II diagnostic instrument for Diagnostics for the Real World, Owlstone breath analysers and working mower prototypes for Hayter. See all case studies.
Yes. Many of our clients are product design consultancies. They own the design and the client relationship; we check their CAD for manufacture and make the prototypes, trial batches and low-volume runs, under NDA. See design consultancies.
Send your CAD file or drawing with the quantity, finish and deadline through our contact page, email info@compfab.co.uk or call +44 1223 836837. We quote fast, and if you have a deadline we will do our best to match it.
Reach out and we'll answer what you need to know.
Send it over and tell us when you need it. We will ask the awkward questions and tell you straight what is possible.
