As every designer knows, there’s magic in transforming a great idea into a tangible and useful object you can hold in your hand. It can be a consumer good on a store shelf, a critical component of an industrial machine, or even an early physical prototype that unveils your new idea to the world.
Physical prototypes — basic and blocky or wonderfully realized in shape, texture and color — go far beyond drawings or computer models to communicate your vision in a dramatic way. They empower the observer to investigate the product and interact with it rather than simply guess what it might be like. Before the product is ever produced, people can touch it; feel it; turn it left, right and upside down; and look inside. They can test it, operate it and fully evaluate it — long before the finished product is brought to market.
Successful product developers revise a design repeatedly until they approach their ideal. Physical prototypes available on demand in ample quantities accelerate the design process, and more quickly send a better product to market.
On-demand prototypes today help engineering organizations:
- Improve communication within the product development organization;
- Shorten design cycles;
- Put superior products on the market ahead of the competition;
- Stretch R&D Money;
- Improve accuracy;
- Eliminate costly mistakes;
- Trigger unexpected ideas;
- Drive innovation and quality; and
- Improve collaboration among engineering, sales, marketing and the executive team.
