Prototyping is considered to be one of the most essential elements of the design and engineering process. Conventionally, it has proved to create challenges as design teams look to build makeshift models which provide a valid basis for a specific concept. In the past, this was needed to be done by nearly the same processes, tooling, costs, and setup as the final product. All these factors used to make prototypes an excessive venture for a majority of the businesses.
However, rapid prototyping provides
the businesses with many benefits and applications which make it quite
different from traditional prototyping. Many businesses, nowadays, hire
rapid prototyping services and gain all the benefits associated with it.
What
is rapid prototyping?
Before taking a look at the benefits
and applications related to rapid prototyping, let’s define it first. Rapid
prototyping involves a wide range of techniques that are used to fabricate a 3D
scale model of a physical assembly quick and in an efficient manner. The fact
that 3D printing or additive
manufacturing doesn’t require any tooling and permits almost unlimited freedom
in form, it is considered to be a natural and complementary technique.
Advantages
of Rapid Prototyping
Rapid prototyping services provide
engineers, designers and development teams with a wide range of advantages,
some of them are mentioned below.
· It makes it possible for the developers and engineers to explore and realize their concepts more quickly, saving a lot of their time. This efficiency in time and cost let the teams to go way beyond just the mere sketch or visualization of a product, and making it way easier to know about the properties and design of the product.
· It allows you to apply repeated designs and modify the product by incorporating some changes in order to let the product get evaluated and tested properly. This process offers a roadmap to developing and refining of the final product.
Applications
of Rapid Prototyping
Rapid prototyping is applicable to
many technologies and materials, which makes it quite a versatile technique
that can be utilized for a number of applications. Some of the applications are
as follows.
Concept
models let the designers validate not only their ideas but also their
assumptions that lie behind those ideas. A physical concept model is a perfect
way to explore a concept, show its legitimacy to stakeholders and create
communication surrounding your product.
Functional
prototypes help the designers and developers in grasping the details which
provide a precise representation of the finished product by letting them verify
the validity of the product before moving on to the next stage.
Another
application of rapid prototyping is that it proves that a working prototype is
also going to be economically feasible. Having a high-quality prototype at your
disposal which achieves a great balance of aesthetics and functionality and at
the same time being cost-effective, is made possible with rapid prototyping.
By now you are knowledgeable enough about
the applications and the various benefits that rapid prototyping holds.