Prototyping is a necessary element of the innovation and product development process. Creating prototypes allows designers, engineers, and business stakeholders to touch, interact with, and test product concepts without investing fully in manufacturing. This helps refine designs, validate functionality, and reduce risk before committing to full production.
There are a variety of prototyping techniques available, each with their own advantages and best use case. These range from rough, low-fidelity sketches to refine ideas, to highly detailed, production-ready prototypes that replicate the look, feel, and capability of the final product. Choosing the right prototyping methods and knowing when to use them can have a major impact on the effectiveness of product development.
This article provides an overview of key prototyping techniques used in the product design and development process.
What is Prototyping?
Prototyping refers to creating preliminary models of a product or design in order to test various aspects before finalizing the details. Prototypes allow teams to simulate real-world use cases, gain feedback, and validate functionality without investing fully in costly production tooling.
The goal of prototyping is to improve the quality and efficiency of product development. Building prototypes early in the process allows for more design iterations and refinements based on learnings. This iterative approach reduces risk and saves time to market once the prototyping phase is complete.
Prototypes can take many forms depending on what needs to be tested, from basic experiential prototypes focused on ergonomics to functional prototypes that demonstrate technical capabilities. As more questions are answered through each iteration, the prototypes typically increase in fidelity until the design is finalized for production.
The iterative process enables designers and engineers to incorporate improvements and innovations along the way. By prototyping early and often, unwanted surprises and costly late-stage changes can be avoided when transitioning to manufacturing. This underscores the importance of rapid, low-cost prototyping techniques to maximize learning.
Key Prototyping Techniques
There are a variety of prototyping techniques used in product development, each with their own strengths and applications. Choosing the right approach depends on factors like the stage of development, level of fidelity required, intended use case, and resources available. Here, we cover a few of the most common and useful methods.
Sketches
Sketches provide quick, hand-drawn representations of conceptual ideas. They can be created rapidly and modified easily in the early stages of the design process. Key benefits of sketching for prototyping include:
- Low-cost, fast, and highly iterative
- Facilitates early brainstorming of design concepts
- Allows for easy communication of initial ideas to stakeholders
- Best used early in development before details are finalized
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Concepts
CAD involves creating detailed digital models of a design, allowing for:
- Exploration of concepts before physical production
- Precise analysis of dimensions, tolerances, and functionality
- Rapid iteration without material costs or waste
- High-quality visualizations to communicate ideas with stakeholders
3D Printing
3D printing refers to additive manufacturing processes used to create detailed prototypes directly from digital files. Benefits include:
- Ability to quickly iterate on designs and identify flaws
- Test form, fit, and aspects of functionality
- Create precise prototypes of complex geometries
- Useful for concept models, pilot runs, and functional prototypes
- Allows for design validation (user testing) before investing in tooling
CNC Machining
CNC machining uses automated tools to shape materials like metal, plastic, and wood. This enables:
- Accuracy and repeatability for testing product functionality in the intended production materials.
- Complex geometries that are not possible using manual fabrication
- Approaching production intent for mechanical systems
- Quick parts when only a handful are needed for testing
- Design validation before committing to tooling
Injection Molding
While 3D printing offers advantages in rapid prototyping and complex geometries, injection molding is preferred for its precision, consistency, and efficiency in high-volume production, AND in prototyping, making it the better choice once the design becomes closer to being finalized. Understanding the differences between these methods helps in selecting the right time to move from 3D printed components to prototype plastic injection molded prototypes.
Key benefits for injection molding prototyping include:
- Can replicate properties and cosmetics of production materials
- Allows for testing at low to moderate production volumes
- Useful for market-ready research and pilot production runs
- Enables functional testing with production equivalent parts
Numerous prototyping techniques are leveraged across the product development landscape, each lending unique strengths. The method should align with the current milestones, resources, and testing requirements at hand. Often, a combination of approaches over the course of a project leads to the best outcome.
When to Use Each Technique
Selecting the right prototyping methods heavily depends on the stage of the product development lifecycle. While prototypes are iterated continuously, some approaches lend themselves better to early exploration vs final validation.
Early Stage
The beginning of the design phase should be focused on concept generation and testing ergonomics. Sketches and crude cardboard or clay prototypes are useful for rapid ideation when ideas are still forming. These allow product teams to brainstorm visual designs, workflow, and test basic functionality faster than with higher-fidelity representations.
Mid Stage
After the initial concept takes shape, the prototypes often increase in complexity and refinement. Techniques like 3D printing, casting, and CNC machining are useful for iterating on specific mechanical and user experience elements while minimizing spending. Sometimes, it makes sense to incorporate injection-molded prototypes to develop critical features of a product, such as snaps or fluidic channels, that require the prototype to replicate a final production part to flush out the details. In this interim stage, the design is more fluid, and possibilities can be explored. Consider questions like: Will it work? Is this feasible? Will my prototype help answer these questions definitively?
Late Stage
As the design nears finalization, injection molding and advanced machining bridge the gap between a refined prototype and a production sample. These facilitate operational testing and validation to ensure quality and performance match specifications before launch. For medical devices especially, products must be tested rigorously using production equivalent parts before the product can be placed on the market. Prototype injection molding is a perfect fit for creating these prototypes to de-risk development and can get developers to market faster.
Matching the right prototyping fidelity and methods to each milestone in the product journey saves significant time and money while enabling smarter design choices.
Choosing the Right Technique for Your Needs
With an array of prototyping methods available, selecting the right approach or combination of approaches requires careful consideration of several factors.
Budget and timeline often dictate options. Simple sketches and 3D prints allow for rapid iteration, while machined and molded prototypes have longer lead times and higher costs. Build speed, cost, and fidelity tradeoffs should align with schedule and resources.
The required level of detail and realism must also be weighed. A 3D print can validate design intent, but an injection-molded prototype can better predict end-product performance. Match the prototyping fidelity to the evaluation criteria as well as the risk to product viability should the design fail. The goal of prototypes should be to not be afraid to fail early and often.
Additionally, consider the specific purpose. Is it for early concept validation? Internal testing? Stakeholder presentations? Customer trials? Different goals necessitate different physical instantiations.
Often, leveraging multiple techniques over the course of development yields more comprehensive learning than relying on a single method. Beginning with sketches and inexpensive prints to explore freely, then elevating fidelity for deeper functionality insights bridges insight gaps.
In the end, the context of budget, time, intended learnings and phase of progress will determine the ideal prototyping approach. Mixing the appropriate tools for each stage will ultimately help drive better end products.
Get Started with Prototyping
Prototyping is a pivotal process in product development. The right techniques applied at the right time can significantly reduce risk and time-to-market. As you explore options for rapid prototyping and injection molding, consider working with Protoshop.
With over 25 years of experience in medical device and plastic product development, Protoshop offers unmatched expertise. Our proprietary methods yield superior prototype quality and accelerated turnaround times through exceptional customer service.
Whether you need support with material selection, design reviews, or production-ready injection molded parts, Protoshop has the capabilities. Our commitment to quality and responsiveness aims to simplify prototyping complexity so product teams can focus on innovation.
To learn more about elevating your prototyping capabilities with Protoshop, request a quote or reach out to speak with an expert.
