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While the concept of prototyping is nothing new, the tools and strategies behind the process have changed immensely. Computer-aided design (CAD), 3-D printers, and a bevy of software products have transformed prototyping from its early days of drawing on paper and painstaking trial-and-error processes to a high-tech, streamlined exercise in product development. However, current methods aren’t without their own sets of challenges—especially when multiple designers are prototyping various parts of a product concurrently.
There’s often a misconception that prototypes are meant to represent nearly identical versions of the final product. Instead, they are mostly just “rough” versions used to evaluate the design and test the workability of the design before the product launch.
To stay competitive, businesses large and small must be constantly innovating, developing superior versions of existing products, or developing all-new products altogether. Many companies rely on rapid prototyping to create and refine products. Ford uses the process to design bodywork and engine components when renewing its automobile lines. Fender Music relies on it for designing acoustic and electric guitars.(1)
Rapid prototyping, simply put, means creating prototypes quickly to assess a product’s design visually and functionally. It can be done at any stage and any number of times during product development and with any product component or subcomponent.
CAD gives engineers the means to create virtual three-dimensional models that will accurately represent the physical model. These physical prototypes can be constructed in several ways, including:
- Subtractive manufacturing, or cutting away at a block of material to arrive at the product’s form
- Compressive manufacturing, or forcing a liquid or semi-solid material into a specific shape
- 3D printing, the construction of objects using plastics, liquids, or powders
Regardless of the construction method, businesses that utilize rapid prototyping can save tremendous amounts of time and money—particularly advantageous in markets where speed-to-market is essential. Because models can be created more quickly and cheaply, more iterations of the product can be tested and refined in less time.
However, rapid prototyping is not necessarily the ideal solution for every situation. Designing and building prototypes using the manufacturing methods expected in production, and are likelier to represent final appearance and functionality, can still be more appropriate where speed-to-market is not the paramount concern, especially in cases where the products are highly complex in design and function.
When rapid prototyping is used effectively, businesses can bring their products to market faster than the competition and offer them at a cheaper price. But it is not the “be all end all” solution—relatively simple projects stand to see the greatest benefit, but for large-scale, complex projects, other options should be considered in parallel, especially when quality control and accuracy are integral to business success.
Sources:
- UrbanGeekz Staff, “Trailblazing Companies Leading The Way In Rapid Prototyping.” UrbanGeekz, 16 August 2016, urbangeekz.com/2016/08/trailblazing-companies-leading-the-way-in-rapid-prototyping/