PRODUCT PROTOTYPING: Getting It Right the First Time

Coming up with a commercially viable idea is an exciting prospect and admirable in itself, but going from the visual image you have in your mind to an actual working and saleable product is a long path, fraught with many pitfalls.

Ensuring that your device will do exactly what you expect it to is of paramount importance and something you need to establish early in the design process.

Creating a product that fits only half the purpose that it was intended for is, in many ways, worse than not designing anything in the first place.

Imagine a Satellite Navigation device that would direct you to your destination but couldn’t suggest alternative routes if you need them or a garden digging tool that deformed badly while you used it.

Those devices would be frustrating to use for their everyday purpose and would not meet the expectations of the consumer.

Clearly, such fundamental issues need to be addressed early and ironed out before the product goes to market.

The best way of doing so is to make a model or representation of the product before you commit to large production runs.

To be able to actually hold your invention without having to go through a complex and costly production route is a useful and worthwhile exercise, and that is where the process of prototyping comes into its own.

This ebook takes a look at the many prototyping techniques currently available – including the latest advances in the field of rapid prototyping – and demonstrates the advantages and common pitfalls that the process can offer the designer.