What is the process for creating a new product prototype?

Every day, new products make their way to store shelves, but have you ever wondered about the journey they take before landing there? A product typically goes through a long process before reaching the market, which includes the design phase, prototyping phase, and production phase.

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Once an idea for a new product is born, the next step is to work out all the intricate details. The more thorough this design phase is, the more successful the product will be. Key questions to consider include:

If the answers to these questions give you the green light, you're likely ready to start thinking about creating a prototype. Various types of prototypes serve different purposes at various stages of product development. For instance, a sketch may suffice in the early stages of your design. Eventually, you may move on to a simple prototype, not necessarily full-sized or capable of enduring tough tests. You may also opt for more specific, detailed prototypes, like a complex gear system. For example, you wouldn't need to prototype an entire bicycle just to examine how smoothly a new chain drive works.

At times, you might need to bounce between refining your design plans and creating rough prototypes if there are still issues with your product. As development progresses, you may seek a more accurate prototype that closely mimics the final product. This is when you can finalize the design, test, adjust, and perfect every aspect.

Having explored the basics of early design and prototyping, let's take the next step and see how professionals approach advanced prototyping techniques.

Prototype Design

After addressing the fundamental questions and working out any obvious issues, you can dive into more serious prototyping. Designing advanced prototypes usually involves using 3-D CAD (computer-aided design) software to create a 3-D model of the product. If you plan to move your product to actual production, CAD software is essential for validating the functionality of your design. It also serves as an effective tool for clearly communicating product specifications to the manufacturing team.

CAD software offers a range of capabilities. You can create designs in both 2-D and 3-D, and easily switch between the two views while fine-tuning your design specifications. Does your product contain many components? Each part can be designed individually and incorporated into the overall product assembly one at a time. Any changes made to a specific part will automatically adjust the other dimensions and integrate those updates into the entire prototype. Detailed, realistic images can include captions, close-ups, and side views. You can experiment with different materials such as chrome, steel, or wood in various finishes—matte, glossy, textured, or brushed. Many other commonly used design features are automated within the software's extensive toolkit. CAD also allows you to see how all parts will function together, simulating whether they will operate smoothly—or fail to—once built and assembled.

Once your 3-D CAD plans are finalized, the next step often involves using cutting-edge technology that's gaining popularity due to its speed and accuracy. In the following section, we'll explore these machines in greater detail and see how they play a crucial role in the prototyping process.

Prototype Development

A wide range of methods are now available to transform your product from blueprints into reality. If you're not opting for lengthy procedures like building the product by hand, you'll likely explore the world of rapid prototyping for a quicker solution.

Rapid prototyping made its debut in the late 1980s with the introduction of stereolithography. While the term may seem complicated, the concept itself is rather straightforward. The challenge, however, lies in defining the exact name for this suite of technologies. Rapid prototyping is just one category within a broader array of applications. Machines capable of producing 3-D models of design ideas also serve other purposes, such as generating multiple product models for market testing, refinement, or short-run production. Due to the variety of technologies, products, and applications, there's no single universal naming convention.

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that all of these technologies share a common trait: they build up material layer by layer, rather than subtracting it. A general term for this process could be additive fabrication. Over the years, this method has been referred to by many names, including solid freeform fabrication, automated fabrication, rapid technologies, layered manufacturing, digital fabrication, 3-D printing, and even more.

Despite the varied terminology, the core process for these machines remains the same: they construct prototypes by layering extremely fine materials one after another until the final prototype is complete. The two critical components in this system are the substrate that forms the layers and the method used to bond them together.

Some examples of additive fabrication processes are as follows:

Depending on the technique used, support structures may be required for overhangs or undercuts in the part design. These supports can be created manually or automatically, and are typically removed afterward by brushing, dissolving, or melting. Additional postproduction steps may involve curing the prototype with intense light or applying a hardener or finish for added durability.

Despite the advantages of rapid prototyping, there are some challenges. Although prototypes don't take months to build, the process still requires considerable time as each layer is laid down, often taking hours or even days. The equipment can be costly, with larger models running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, smaller, more affordable machines are available, and some companies offer prototyping services at an hourly rate for submitted designs.

Now that we have our prototype, what steps should we take next?

Prototype Testing

What makes prototypes so essential in product development? Since they are the initial version of a product, prototypes serve a key role in testing, and more testing. Let’s explore how the testing process generally works and why it's important to invest time in it.

The primary benefit of prototypes is likely seen in the bottom line. Testing prototypes allows for the identification of design flaws and usability issues — both crucial factors for a product's success. You must ensure everything functions correctly and that users can easily figure out how to use it too.

One major reason for this is that time is a critical factor in product development. A groundbreaking idea could be taking shape in a competitor’s mind at the exact same time. Getting your product to market first has significant advantages — as long as the product is well-executed. Consumers will pay more for a first-mover product, develop stronger brand loyalty, and you'll make a greater profit. This is another area where rapid prototyping can significantly help: it accelerates the prototyping process and fast-tracks your product’s development timeline.

Another consideration for prototypes is their value in pitching ideas to investors, senior management, and other stakeholders, even before the product is fully finished. Presenting a working prototype can be far more convincing than showing a concept on paper.

Safety testing is equally essential. You need to ensure that your product is not inherently dangerous, or at least not hazardous if misused. If there is any risk, you must assess how significant the risk is and how serious the consequences would be. Can this risk be minimized or avoided? What kind of warnings will need to be on the product? Should these warnings and instructions be available in multiple languages or suitable for users with different skill levels? These are key insights that can be gained by testing your prototype, evaluating your business plan, and researching the market. Before production begins, it's critical to ensure that everything is safe and operational. If you're in the United States, visiting the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission website for relevant guidelines is a good idea. If you're elsewhere, there are likely similar resources in your country that will be easy to locate.

Once the prototype has passed all tests, it's time to move forward with mass production. Check out the following page for additional resources, including helpful links on how to legally protect your new product.