“Made in China 2025” will help China’s manufacturing industry achieve global dominance. The driving force behind this plan is the continuous innovation and development of new products and bringing them to market.
One of the biggest challenges product designers face is not being able to show their clients what the planned design engineering prototype will look like in real life. This is where prototype development comes in. However, this difficult process must go through countless tests and scientific studies carried out by engineers from all disciplines.
Why is prototyping so important?
Prototyping is a working version of a solution and design. Prototypes are an essential step in developing a final product. Having many different prototypes allows designers to create different iterations of the same product and see how it would look and function in real life. After all the trial and error done on prototypes, designers and engineers can select the best prototype and advance it to final production.
Prototyping and rapid manufacturing offer many different advantages that are incomparable to other technical processes. Some of the main benefits are listed below:
1. Ability to make changes almost instantly
Once prototyping is complete, a physical model of a concept can be represented visually. With a visual model, changes can be made almost immediately by simply asking customers for feedback. This allows for many different iterations before the design is finalized for final production. Such iterations allow the product design to become better and more efficient compared to the initial design.
Having a real prototype in hand gives confidence to both designers and clients. The real demand and need for the prototype in the market can also be better studied in the production of a competitive product with a higher acceptance rate.
2. Time and cost efficient
Developing and producing prototypes can save a lot of time and money. The time and cost required to produce new patterns and molds for each new prototype is eliminated. One of the main reasons for this is that rapid manufacturing uses additive manufacturing processes such as CAD design and 3D modeling. Such measures are not only quick, but also cost-effective. Unlike traditional prototyping, minimal raw material waste is generated and, in some cases, waste can be reused.
As design issues are identified at a very early stage, they can be resolved before final production. If a product had not been prototyped and the design put into production, it is possible that each of the products manufactured would have the same defect. This would make the entire batch unusable, a cost and time burden for the manufacturer, and a disappointment for the public.
3. High adaptability
One of the most promising benefits of prototyping is the high degree of customization it offers. Every prototype can be modified in shape and design, so no matter how complex or difficult the design is, the design can be turned into a prototype in one way or another and, once approved, into a final product.
Because modern prototyping uses CAD to create virtual prototypes before creating a physical form of them, a small change in geometry is possible without changing other parts of the prototype. This means the prototype can be made in any shape and design as needed.
3D printing of a human face
4.Realization of the design concept
Through prototype design, designers can take their projects and concepts beyond virtual visualization. The look and feel of a prototype allows designers and engineers to better understand your design and see what your final product would look like if that design were moved into production.
Bringing the design concept to fruition is also crucial for shareholders and the public, as it gives them confidence and a personal connection to how the final product will look once it is manufactured. It also helps the designers and engineers behind the concept to claim that design as their own and prevents the design from being copied by other competitors in the market.
CNC milling of a Mustang GT car logo
5. Minimized design errors
By producing prototypes before the final product, any design errors can be identified and corrected early. Although physical design flaws can be noticed in virtual designs, it is difficult to determine virtually how the product would behave and function in real-world scenarios. Therefore, a real prototype can be simulated and tested in different environments to see how it would perform. The risk of usability problems and errors is also minimized.
Modern prototyping techniques
With technological advancements, the entire rapid prototyping and manufacturing industry has been revolutionized. As time and money are among the most important considerations for any business or designer, it is important that prototyping techniques are fast, cost-effective and reliable.
Nowadays, CNC and 3D printing processes are mainly used in the development of prototypes. Both techniques are CAD-based, which means that designs are first fed virtually into the computer, where they can be modified according to the needs of designers or end users, and then processed into a prototype.
CNC machining, such as milling and 5-axis cutting, are subtractive prototyping methods, while 3D printing is an additive prototyping technique. Both techniques are known to have their advantages and disadvantages.
Prototyping is certainly a useful and effective method to have a proof of concept for your product and ensure that it can withstand any challenges once manufactured. As prototyping is a crucial phase in the production of a product, it is recommended that prototyping is carried out by a reputable prototype manufacturer such as Wayken.
Wayken offers business prototyping to partners
Demonstration of projects for specific fields of application;
Integration of components into modern processing systems and devices;
Optimizing the product department to create easy-to-use templates;
Practical prototypes that integrate materials, craftsmanship and engineering intelligence;
Build long-term relationships with small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups based on product development.
The team offers customized technical prototypes
Mechanical design and engineering and CAD software, etc.;
Help customers pass engineering and design verification tests: EVT, DVT, PVT;
Optimal advice on components regarding materials, processes, machining tolerances and prediction of possible problems;
Commissioning, acceptance and optimization in the design department.
The future prototype development plan
In order to help more customers or designers transform their excellent designs or research results into market-oriented products, processes and services, we will make efforts to expand our engineering teams and establish a scientific research and development department. Finally, we will try to break the active interface between industry and product development so that most industrial companies can more easily access the latest research results using functionally efficient models and prototypes.
Wayken has been in the prototyping business for decades, producing high-quality prototypes for customers around the world. If you're a designer, we invite you to Wayken to see your ideas turned into profitable reality.
