Prototyping is a process in which a supplier helps an engineering firm to manufacture an example of a newly engineered product or component. The component is manufactured in order to try to find ways to improve it before it goes into massproduction or an application.
Fabricators that do prototyping are normally good at making quick changes to their production and they should provide feedback during the process. The far most common changes are for economical reasons; quicker production usually means better production economics. It is also common that weaknesses are found, and they have to be corrected to ensure that the component will work as intended or to increase its lifespan.
Prototyping within the fabrication category means that fabrication is the main part of the production, but it usually also includes machining, plastic, rubber and electronics to some degree.