From Prototype to Production: How Startups Can Efficiently Manufacture VR Headsets

Product Introduction

VR headsets are increasingly used in healthcare for rehabilitation training, helping treat mental health conditions such as anxiety and PTSD. Compared to traditional methods, they provide a more personalized and interactive experience, making recovery more natural and accessible, especially for individuals with mobility challenges or limited medical resources.

Recently, WayKen assisted a customer in developing and manufacturing a VR headset for psychological rehabilitation, from prototype testing to low-volume production. Let’s take a closer look at how we supported this meaningful project!

Understanding Project Requirements

A clear understanding of the customer’s needs was essential to providing precise technical support for this VR headset project. Our customer, a startup specializing in VR headsets for psychological rehabilitation, aimed to develop a device to support mental health treatment. After securing $2 million in angel funding, they planned to produce prototypes to evaluate the structure, functionality, and aesthetics of the product. Following successful testing, they intended to manufacture 500 units for low-volume production and market launch.

With WayKen’s support, our customer overcame a common startup challenge—achieving high-quality prototypes and low-volume production within a limited budget.

Prototype Validation: Laying the Foundation for Low-Volume Production

Before moving into low-volume production, the customer needed to validate their VR headset design through several prototype iterations.

Evaluating the Drawings and Project Scope

The customer shared all design drawings for evaluation. Our project manager carefully reviewed them and organized the details: the VR headset consisted of 50 parts – six metal components and the rest plastic parts. Various surface treatments, such as painting and anodizing were required. Given the number of components and the high aesthetic expectations, selecting the right materials and processes was crucial to achieving both quality and cost efficiency.

Material and Process Selection for Prototype Validation

The prototyping phase required different material and process considerations than low-volume production. To balance cost, quality, and efficiency, we proposed the following solutions:

• Metal Parts: We recommended AL6061 aluminum alloy for its cost-effectiveness and ease of machining. The parts were CNC machined and anodized to enhance durability and aesthetics.
• Plastic Parts: With a demand for 50 sets, CNC machining services were not the most cost-effective solution. Instead, we suggested vacuum casting with an ABS-like resin. The process allowed silicone molds to produce 15–20 parts per mold cycle, reducing costs, improving efficiency, and maintaining assembly precision.

The customer was highly satisfied with this approach, and prototype production began immediately.

Assembly Verification in the Prototype Stage

Once all prototype parts were manufactured, we conducted an initial assembly test. In order to ensure the final appearance, after machining and before surface treatment, our professional engineer tested the assembly according to customer requirements. This process could detect assembly problems, confirm the tight of tolerance, and feedback DFM to customers to help optimize the design.

After the trial assembly was completed, we did the surface treatment of the parts as required and sent the final prototypes to the customer for further function verification and appearance verification.

Technical Support in the Low-Volume Production Stage

After receiving the VR headset prototype parts, the customer was highly satisfied with the machining quality. Based on our feedback, they further refined their design and confirmed for small-batch production.

They also appreciated our material and process recommendations during prototyping and were eager to discuss the most suitable manufacturing approach for low-volume production.

Metal Part Processing for Low-Volume Production

For aluminum components, die casting is often a cost-effective option when production volumes exceed 500 pieces. However, with only 200 metal parts required for this project, the cost of die-casting molds would not be justified. After evaluation, we recommended continuing with CNC machining to maintain cost efficiency and precision.

Plastic Part Processing for Low-Volume Production

To reduce the cost of low-volume production processing, choosing a suitable machining process for plastic parts is important. Based on our experience, thin-walled plastic parts with more than 50 pieces are usually suitable for vacuum casting. However, the budget of this project was very tight, and if the trial production proved successful, future demand would increase significantly with tighter delivery schedules.

Considering these factors, we suggested fast aluminum molds for injection molding. This approach was well-suited for low-volume production. Because many parts of this VR headset project were small and had similar structures, we combined these similar parts into one rapid mold. It not only saves the cost of making molds but also improves the production efficiency of low-volume production parts.

Feedback and Future Plan

After receiving the low-volume parts of the VR headset, our customer shared their satisfaction, and said, “The quality of the parts is outstanding, and we can’t wait to start assembling them and bringing them to market. WayKen’s support ensured a smooth production process with excellent attention to detail, cost efficiency, and strict quality control.”

The first batch of VR headsets performed well in the market, and the customer has reached out again, requesting high-quality parts for their second mass production run.