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1. LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS Page 1 of 7

2. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING CONTENTS 1 WHY LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING? 2 WHAT IS LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING? 2 DEFINITION & SCOPE 3 APPLICATIONS & IDEAL USE-CASES 3 PROCESSES & VARIETIES 5 CORE BENEFITS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING 5 DESIGN FLEXIBILITY 7 REDUCED COST FOR SMALL-BATCH PRODUCTION 7 FASTER PRODUCTION CYCLE 9 RAPID PROTOTYPING 9 REDUCED RISK 10 CONCLUSIONS +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

3. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING WHY LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING? Product lifecycles are shrinking. There are two major trends contributing to the pattern: (1) an increasing demand for product customization and personalization, and (2) an overall increase in the frequency of purchasing new or novel products. Together, these changes in consumer behavior are putting real pressure on designers and manufacturers to reduce development time, shorten launch windows, and build flexibility and adaptability into design and redesign workflows. Tried-and-true approaches reliant on careful, multi-phase research and scaling up to mass production are becoming less competitive every year.1 But any change in your customer base brings opportunity with it. The accelerating pace of development and rollout creates room for companies capable of beating their competitors to market and responding at lightning speed to the latest changes in consumer tastes and preferences. And the way to do that is with low-volume manufacturing processes. Using techniques that range from rapid CNC machining to additive manufacturing (or “3D Printing”), low-volume production combines speed, reduced cost for small batches, ease of quality control, and risk mitigation with the ability to produce novel parts and products much more quickly and consistently. “Low-volume manufacturing is the optimal choice for those who need modest quantities of finished parts, ranging anywhere from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands.” This is the future of manufacturing. This is where your attention needs to be. This is the future of manufacturing. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

4. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING WHAT IS LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING? DEFINITION & SCOPE Low-volume manufacturing deals with batch sizes from 1 to 1,000. It can be used for entire product runs when short-run manufacturing is appropriate or can provide preliminary and test batches to aid in development, testing, QA, and linking prototyping to full-scale production. One of the defining features of low-volume manufacturing is its total integration with leading edge technologies for design and information-sharing: designs are all digital and cloud-based and it leverages 3D printers, the Internet of Things, and Industry 4.0 to deliver otherwise impossible speed and adaptability.2 Low-volume manufacturing can easily be combined with traditional finishing processes such as polishing and painting to produce parts suitable for immediate end-use. “Low-volume manufacturing is all about diminishing risk, driving speed to market, and ensuring top quality. With low-volume manufacturing, you can manufacture a small number of pieces and add these to validate your design, your materials, and our industry analysis. All at a much lower overhead cost in manufacturing and in wasted product.” -Joe Arnone, former COO at Radius Innovation +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

5. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING APPLICATIONS & IDEAL USE-CASES Low-volume manufacturing is easiest to leverage for high-value, high-sale-price products such as extremely specialized goods. Medical devices are the best illustration of its value; some companies specializing in medical production may produce fewer than 100 each of only a handful of products annually, with each product having 5-10 variants and being customizable in as many ways.3 Outside of these highly-specialized, extremely high-value technologies, the most common use of low-volume manufacturing is for prototyping. A skilled team can easily use low-volume techniques to produce fully-functional small batches of prototypes that look exactly like the final product, as well as production-grade engineering prototypes.4 The other top uses of low-volume manufacturing are as follows: àRapid intermediate tooling or production àVerification test prototype short runs (for EVT, DVT, and PVT) àCustom CNC-machined parts àLow-volume sheet metal parts àPlastic parts for pilot runs made with rapid injection molding àHigh-quality customized products àPilot batches of production parts low- -volume manufacturing volume manufacturingthe This suite of applications and use-cases makes low ideal approach to almost all new product development ideal approach to almost all new product development in today’s turbulent, rapidly-changing markets. the PROCESSES & VARIETIES CNC Machining Low-volume manufacturers rely on CNC machining for the production of custom plastic and metal parts in a variety of applications, especially those +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

6. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING that are high-complexity. It also often offers the best test case for potential or upcoming large-scale production, and can allow for the simplest and easiest means of combining metal and plastic parts. Rapid Injection Molding Rapid injection molding can create functional prototype injection-molded parts on timespans as short as 2-5 weeks. It is often the best choice for those who need several hundred distribution-ready plastic parts or metal with the shortest possible lead time. It can also be used to generate parts for verification testing. Additive Manufacturing Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is most often used for rapid prototyping processes, as quality assurance is more complicated for AM than for other comparable methods. Leading forms of AM such as stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) can be applied to generate plastic parts extremely quickly, and with the right team they can even generate production-quality parts at extremely competitive prices, thanks to the absence of tooling costs. Vacuum Casting Vacuum casting of urethane parts provides end-use, rigid or flexible plastic parts with production-level quality, and does not require expensive and time-consuming hard tooling. Instead, silicone rubber molds are made using 3D- printed or CNC +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

7. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING machined parts as masters, resulting in finished products within weeks. Sheet Metal Fabrication The defining feature of low-volume sheet-metal production processes is their short setup time and minimal initial cost. Because the manufacturing processes rely on the manipulation of pre-formed sheets through cutting, bending, and finishing, design becomes by far the most time-consuming segment of the development cycle. Finishing Parts and prototypes typically come off the production line with a unique set of surface-level machining marks or unique texture spots. These can prevent the parts from displaying the needed mechanical or aesthetic properties, but can be addressed using augmentative traditional finishing methods, including sanding, polishing, brushing, painting, blasting, assembly, fastening, and others. CORE BENEFITS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING DESIGN FLEXIBILITY The above manufacturing techniques allow for hugely improved design flexibility, thanks to short feedback loops at every stage of the development and testing processes. Design iteration and product or part redesign are fast, easy, and adaptable. Short product lifetimes are easily accommodated, and successive generations in a product line can be rolled out in response to shifting consumer demands within weeks or just a few months.5 At the heart of this increased design flexibility are the connections between different members of the development team. Full or partial designs can be expressed and validated with minimal effort using already-in-place equipment. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

8. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING Engineering choices can be explored more flexibly thanks to the easily reconfigurable nature of low-volume production processes, and many iterations can be tested simultaneously. Following an initial pilot run, immediate design innovations can be incorporated at minimal additional cost in order to optimize the product or shift priorities.6 +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

9. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING REDUCED COST FOR SMALL-BATCH PRODUCTION Low-volume manufacturing offers dramatically lower cost-per-part than traditional mass production methods do, so long as order volumes remain small. The exact range that is profitable depends on the particular low-volume method used; the best way to determine whether a given method is suitable is to contact a manufacturer. The reduced cost has two components. First, the initial cost of tooling (both in materials quality and in design and production) is far lower, as the equipment need not stand up to the rigors of long-term mass-production. Instead, it only needs to last for the duration of a single short run. For example, standard plastic injection molding and pressure die casting require large investments in tooling and in high-quality, durable steel, whereas sheet metal fabrication or vacuum casting have no comparable costs. Second, mass production facilities usually require a minimum order quantity (MOQ) to cover those production costs, while low- volume facilities do not. This is both because the up-front costs are so low and because the production lines are typically so easy to reconfigure, adapt, and customize to present need. This creates opportunities for significant production savings for small batch sizes.7 “For high-quantity production, the initial investment is spread across the parts. For low- quantity production, though, capital investment can overwhelm the part cost.” - American Society of Mechanical Engineers In addition, low-volume manufacturing brings significantly reduced inventory carrying costs. FASTER PRODUCTION CYCLE A standard production timeline for large-scale manufacturing is 2-4 months. By comparison, low-volume manufacturing can bring an idea from conception to market in a little as a few weeks. That kind of speed can pay huge dividends +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

10. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING given the increasingly fierce production in most sectors that rely on manufacturing, and can easily be the difference between success and failure. In addition, blazing-fast production speeds help companies adjust to volatile and rapidly shifting markets. These general advantages of having short overall product lead times can be broken down into three major benefits that accrue to low-volume manufacturers:8 1.They are able to capitalize on opportunities created by emerging and developing markets. 2.They are able to beat competitors to market. 3.They are able to innovate quickly, and get those innovations to consumers far more rapidly than would otherwise be possible. In addition, most modern markets are characterized by high expectations for customization and product diversity. Both demands are well- suited to managing multiple small- batch product runs rather than investing heavily in the capacity for single-product mass-production. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

11. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING RAPID PROTOTYPING For operations that will rely on mass production to meet anticipated demand, low-volume production can still serve a crucial function: it can link prototyping to full production by using small-batch techniques and similar components and materials for both prototype and final components. Low-volume manufacturing is unique in its ability to identity possible defects and verify designs with a high degree of consistency and fidelity.9 Repeated pilot runs allow for the quick, low-cost manufacturing of tens or hundreds of pre-production parts. These bridge the gap between design and full-scale operations, and allow for testing of fully functional product iterations as well as form-fit testing and similar QA-related processes.10 “Low-volume manufacturing offers fast design iteration, physical proof-of-concept, and scale models for customers looking to fast- track product development.” - 3D Systems At the same time, having relatively large numbers of functional prototypes or market-ready components can allow for much more successful marketing and fundraising, making it possible to offer potential investors or distributors examples of a finalized product.11 REDUCED RISK The final major advantage of low-volume manufacturing is the end result of the other four: reduced risk. The small batch size means that an unsuccessful launch or failed innovation is easily absorbed, as the small up- front investment exacts +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

12. ADVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS OF LOW-VOLUME MANUFACTURING only a minimal financial toll and the easily reconfigured manufacturing and assembly equipment and supply chains allow for the next iteration, new idea, or reconceived version of the product to reach markets almost immediately. By comparison, scaling too quickly to mass commercialization can easily cripple a startup or deal a massive blow to even well-established companies.12 This reduced risk increases decision efficiency, as it allows for the safe, easily trialing of new ideas, and saves investors’ money if a given product fails to meet projected sales. At the same time, it offers greater design freedom and gives the company room to innovate with both products and ideas.13 CONCLUSIONS Low-volume manufacturing is the product of hundreds of small innovations and collective convergence on the most efficient, effective means of competing in modern markets. Consumers increasingly demand customized, rapidly-changing products. Markets are increasingly unpredictable and companies are forced to adapt quickly if they wish to compete. In this environment, low-volume manufacturing offers five critical advantages over its more traditional rivals: design flexibility, reduced costs for small-batch production, short times-to- market for new or iterated products, rapid prototyping and testing, and reduced risk for innovation. There is no more significant change a company can make to prepare itself for the next ten to fifteen years of commercial evolution and market-readiness. Low- volume manufacturing is a glimpse into the future. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

13. ABOUT HLH PROTOTYPES HLH Prototypes is an industry leader in flexible, high-quality, low-volume manufacturing. We started helping people and businesses bring their ideas to market in 2008, and since that time have offered our clients a unique fusion that combines the best aspects of Eastern and Western forms of efficiency and innovation. CEO Vader Yu joined with James Murphy to build a production enterprise rivaling anything else in the industry, and have rapidly expanded operations to make HLH Prototypes one of the fastest, most reliable manufacturers in the world. of the only companies in the world to offer such an array of prototyping and bespoke low-volume manufacturing solutions. Our high-tech rapid prototyping and production facilities include CNC milling, 3D printing (SLA and SLS), vacuum casting (cast urethanes), sheet metal fabrication, and rapid tooling and injection molding as well as traditional model-making and a range of finishing techniques. As our reputation and customer base has grown, so has our range of services. We are now one +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

14. RESOURCES This white paper is the product of our experts’ insights and industry knowledge, and is backed by the latest in industrial and academic research into the state of global manufacturing. 1 Arnone, J. (2020). Benefits of low-volume build & manufacturing. Radius Innovation & Development. https://www.radiusinnovation.com/insights/benefits-of-low-volume-build-and-manufacturing.html 3ERP. (2020). Low-volume manufacturing. https://www.3erp.com/low-volume-manufacturing/ 2 Gress, D. R., & Kalafsky, R. V. (2015). Geographies of production in 3D: Theoretical and research implications stemming from additive manufacturing. Geoforum, 60, 43-52. Javadi, S., Bejlegaard, M., Andersen, A. L., & Bruch, J. (2016, September). The Introduction Process of Low- Volume Products: Challenges and Potentials of Information Management. In IFIP International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems (pp. 325-332). Springer, Cham. Synnes, E. L., & Welo, T. (2016). Bridging the gap between high and low-volume production through enhancement of integrative capabilities. Procedia Manufacturing, 5, 26-40. 3 Jolliffe, H. G., & Gerogiorgis, D. I. (2016). Process modelling and simulation for continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing of artemisinin. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 112, 310-325. Rantanen, J., & Khinast, J. (2015). The future of pharmaceutical manufacturing sciences. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 104(11), 3612-3638. Spena, P. R., Holzner, P., Rauch, E., Vidoni, R., & Matt, D. T. (2016). Requirements for the Design of flexible and changeable Manufacturing and Assembly Systems: a SME-survey. Procedia Cirp, 41, 207-212. 4 Manogharan, G., Wysk, R. A., & Harrysson, O. L. (2016). Additive manufacturing–integrated hybrid manufacturing and subtractive processes: economic model and analysis. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 29(5), 473-488. Uhlmann, E., Bergmann, A., & Gridin, W. (2015). Investigation on additive manufacturing of tungsten carbide- cobalt by selective laser melting. Procedia CIRP, 35, 8-15. 5 Garza, J. M. (2016). Understanding the adoption of additive manufacturing (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Minguella-Canela, J., Muguruza, A., Lumbierres, D. R., Heredia, F. J., Gimeno, R., Guo, P., ... & Webb, S. (2017). Comparison of production strategies and degree of postponement when incorporating additive manufacturing to product supply chains. Procedia Manufacturing, 13, 754-761. 6 Bejlegaard, M., Brunoe, T. D., Bossen, J., Andersen, A. L., & Nielsen, K. (2016). Reconfigurable manufacturing potential in small and medium enterprises with low volume and high variety: pre-design evaluation of RMS. Procedia Cirp, 51, 32-37. Ford, S., & Despeisse, M. (2016). Additive manufacturing and sustainability: an exploratory study of the advantages and challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 137, 1573-1587. Ojstersek, R., & Buchmeister, B. (2020). The Impact of Manufacturing Flexibility and Multi-criteria Optimization on the Sustainability of Manufacturing Systems. Symmetry, 12(1), 157. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China

15. 7 Javadi, S., Bruch, J., & Bellgran, M. (2015). Product development in low-volume manufacturing industries: Characteristics and influencing factors. In DS 80-4 Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 15) Vol 4: Design for X, Design to X, Milan, Italy, 27-30.07. 15 (pp. 145-154). Schneider, E. (2010). Low-volume manufacturing. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/low-volume-manufacturing Solberg, S. (2016). Cost-Efficient Low-Volume Production Through Additive Manufacturing (Master's thesis, University of Stavanger, Norway). 8 Arnone, J. (2020). Benefits of low-volume build & manufacturing. Radius Innovation & Development. https://www.radiusinnovation.com/insights/benefits-of-low-volume-build-and-manufacturing.html Johansson, W., & Wennmo, T. (2016). Incentives and challenges for adopting AM technology in the plastic industry. Unpublished manuscript, Lund University. Katic, M., & Agarwal, R. (2018). The Flexibility paradox: Achieving ambidexterity in high-variety, low-volume manufacturing. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 19(1), 69-86. Qu, T., Lei, S. P., Wang, Z. Z., Nie, D. X., Chen, X., & Huang, G. Q. (2016). IoT-based real-time production logistics synchronization system under smart cloud manufacturing. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 84(1-4), 147-164. 9 Synnes, E. L., & Welo, T. (2016). Bridging the gap between high and low-volume production through enhancement of integrative capabilities. Procedia Manufacturing, 5, 26-40. Garza, J. M. (2016). Understanding the adoption of additive manufacturing (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). 10 Andersen, A. L., Larsen, J. K., Brunoe, T. D., Nielsen, K., & Ketelsen, C. (2018). Exploring requirements and implementation of changeability and reconfigurability in danish manufacturing. Procedia Cirp, 72, 665-670. Ford, S., & Despeisse, M. (2016). Additive manufacturing and sustainability: an exploratory study of the advantages and challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 137, 1573-1587. 11 Schneider, E. (2010). Low-volume manufacturing. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/low-volume-manufacturing Strong, D., Kay, M., Conner, B., Wakefield, T., & Manogharan, G. (2018). Hybrid manufacturing–integrating traditional manufacturers with additive manufacturing (AM) supply chain. Additive Manufacturing, 21, 159- 173. 12 Kłosowski, G., & Gola, A. (2016, September). Risk-based estimation of manufacturing order costs with artificial intelligence. In 2016 Federated Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (FedCSIS) (pp. 729-732). IEEE. Jeschke, S., Brecher, C., Meisen, T., Özdemir, D., & Eschert, T. (2017). Industrial internet of things and cyber manufacturing systems. In Industrial internet of things (pp. 3-19). Springer, Cham. Zeltmann, S. E., Gupta, N., Tsoutsos, N. G., Maniatakos, M., Rajendran, J., & Karri, R. (2016). Manufacturing and security challenges in 3D printing. JOM, 68(7), 1872-1881. 13 Despeisse, M., & Ford, S. (2015, September). The role of additive manufacturing in improving resource efficiency and sustainability. In IFIP International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems (pp. 129-136). Springer, Cham. +86 755 8256 9129 (ext. 817 for English) info@hlhprototypes.com Shenzhen & Dongguan, China