Written by:
Erik
10/4/2008 4:52 PM
From www.productdesignresources.com
:
Prototyping is one of the quickest and most powerful methods of
evaluating concepts and designs for products. Prototypes serve a
number of purposes and can be used for form study, ergonomic analysis,
concept validation, engineering verification, functional
review, usability analysis, and marketing/sales samples. Prototypes can
vary in scope from just a part of the design to a complete
working prototype functionally and aesthetically identical to the final
product. They can be simple, cardboard and foamcore
mock-ups, and they can be very complex taking weeks or months to
construct.
Prototypes are tools for design. As with any other tool, it is
important to have a clear sense of purpose of what that tool will
provide the design. Because prototypes are such a tangible tool, many
companies and design firms get caught up in including the
prototyping step at multiple stages, and spend much time building and
refining prototypes as a matter of protocol. However, as
incredibly beneficial a prototype can be, remember that a prototype
does not bring in revenue and does not pay the bills - products
do. Sure, a sales and marketing prototype will help drive early sales,
but that is its purpose at that point. A lot of time
and money can be spent building and refining prototype, so make sure
that it is worth the effort. Before building the prototype,
define the purpose and goals of the prototype as a design tool, and let
that drive the construction method. A prototype is only
worth as much as the value of the information it provides.
So, if the purpose is ergonomy, maybe it makes sense to forgo
the carbon fiber prototype and use wood. As gratifying as it can be to
see something put together, don't waste time in the model
shop tinkering when there are other more critical design tasks that
need completion.
Complete article... at www.productdesignresources.com
Tags:
3 comments so far...
Re: Prototyping Purpose and Methods
I have to agree that prototyping is very important to produce products that are safe and work to the best of the capability of those you are making them. This is also why they put many people on one project so that more needs are met through one or another method.
By attagirl on
10/11/2008 1:05 PM
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Re: Prototyping Purpose and Methods
Prototyping is a must. This phase is already built in the development model. It is done to check whether the design standards are met according to the user's requirements and also to check whether the product meets the user requirements and satisfies them. At every stage, a prototype can be built and tested. This will help us in identifying errors in the start stage itself.
By descorpio on
10/20/2008 10:47 PM
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Re: Prototyping Purpose and Methods
When you are in the design phase of any project we all have a target price for our prototypes.To keep my costs for R & D to a minium and minamize the machining costs I bought my own manual equiptment to machine parts for my own projects. It was not long after that I realized time is an important factor so I then retofit my machines into CNC machines .This has cut my machining time in half.often in prototyping you are talking about small quanities of custom parts .This can add up to large costs when it comes to the machining of these parts.This whole way of thinking works for me because of my backround in machining and automation of these machines and might not work for everyone.But if you have a project that requires a tight budget and machining i would be interested in offering my services to help fund my future projects if anyone is interested. If so I can be reached at j.r.h.enterprises@comcast.net and look forward to any feedback you might have.
By jason h. on
11/8/2008 6:25 AM
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