How To Make a Prototype: Product Prototyping Basics

WHAT IS A PROTOTYPE?

In hardware development, a prototype is an early, tangible representation of a product that is used to evaluate and refine its design before it is produced at scale. The primary purpose of prototyping is to test the functionality, performance, and feasibility of the proposed design and identify any potential improvements or issues.

WHY DO I NEED A PROTOTYPE?

The purpose of a prototype is to facilitate development and enhancement of your product concept. This purpose can be broken down as follows:

• It allows you to test and improve your invention
• It motivates you to keep going
• You’ll have something to show
• It helps you understand the user experience.
• These points are further detailed below.

It allows you to test and improve your invention

In other words, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” When you actually test your device, you will see how you can enhance your product idea and validate the design.

Here is a case from our portfolio at AJProTech about designing MoKoo Bluetooth Smart Lock— a lock to be controlled directly by a mobile app to open doors and share access.

One of our working principles at AJProTech is to put ourselves in the position of our users to find out what we can do to ensure our product meets all their needs under all possible conditions.

A significant issue we discovered at the prototyping stage was the necessity to find a balance between sufficient power consumption and the requirement for a small product size, i.e., how to insert enough energy into such a tiny device. To resolve this issue, we used a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) module and a low consumption motor system, which are known for being able to work for more than a year with only two CR2032 lithium batteries. This issue might not have been addressed at an early stage without creating a prototype first.

It motivates you to keep going

As long as your idea is just in your head or on paper, it might seem a bit vague or unrealistic. But the moment you obtain a 3D model of your product, you’ll feel that your dreams are coming to fruition, and you will be inspired to go all the steps in product development to the final version of the product and bring the product to the market.

You’ll have something to show

A 3D model of your product, especially a fully functional prototype, is essential for presentation of your device to partners and investors. When they are able to actually try and test it, they will see the viability of your product, i.e. whether your product is a reliable investment.

Here is another case story: we manufactured initial prototypes for HUUPE smart basketball hoop, which generated funding for more than $11 million for future development and marketing. This success made it possible for HUUPE team to able to employ technical specialists and bring the project in-house.

On top of that, an early prototype was purchased by a sports superstar.

It helps you understand the user experience

Use your prototype for market research: offer it to your target audience and get their feedback to make your next prototype in accordance with their needs.

HOW TO MAKE A PROTOTYPE IN 6 STEPS

We believe, you are now fully aware of the prototype relevance, and you are ready to make your first prototype. This section is for those who want to learn how to make a prototype in industrial design.

• Start with a product vision
• Create a sketch or use Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• Make a proof of concept
• Make a physical product prototype
• Test the prototype
• Create a production-ready prototype

Start With a Product Vision

Product Vision is a concept of the long-term future of the device. It has to be carefully thought-over and formulated in order to explain in detail what problem your product tackles. Verbalisation of all intricacies will help you and your team to get the picture of your future product development journey and convince investors of the product viability.

Create a Sketch or Use Computer Aided Design (CAD)

After you have described your product idea, it’s time to get it visualised. An effortless way to make a digital prototype  to draw it on a piece of paper, sketching out what the product will look like, its functions, main features and materials. However, a more up-to-date method is using visual prototyping programs, like Figma, or utilise CAD instruments.

CAD (Computer-Aided Design) is digital technology used to create design simulations actual products in 2D or 3D. With the help of CAD tools, you will be able to make precision drawings, technical illustrations or other visual prototypes. 

Make a Proof of Concept

A proof of concept (POC) is a prototype or early-stage demonstration used to assess whether an idea or technology can deliver the expected result and has any market potential.  

A POC is used at an early stage of a new product development to confirm the device viability before considerable funds are invested, to determine whether to proceed.

Make a Physical Product Prototype

The following step is to make a 3D representation of your product or service, i.e. a physical prototype. 

There are several ways of physical prototype manufacturing. At AJProtech, we use 3D printing and CNC machining. For more information on prototyping tools please see clause 6 below.

Test the Prototype

The testing stage is particularly important, when you are creating a product to make sure all potential issues have been anticipated and sorted out. At AJProTech, we run multiple sessions of in-house testing. Thus, with Industrial Bluetooth Headphones we went through 4 cycles of design and prototyping to get to the production-ready phase.

Create a Production-Ready Prototype

A Production Ready prototype or a minimum viable product (MVP) is an early version of the intended device, which looks and operates  like a finished product. It is usually constructed of custom-built components brought together into a unit designed for commercial production. The Production Ready prototype is tested for F3 (“form, fit and function”) as if it were the final product. With the help of this version you can showcase your brand and product range and launch your product to market. If you want to learn more about AJProTech prototype marketing achievements, turn to clause 2.3 above.

We can illustrate this by the story of our electronics prototyping and mechanical design for MoKoo Bluetooth Smart Lock.

We commenced our electronics prototyping on development boards to promptly validate microcontroller, motor operation, and BLE connection to a mobile application. Since MoKoo Bluetooth Smart Lock is an IoT product, such kind of development requires several iterations of PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design and prototyping. We manufactured and then assembled & tested in-house custom PCBs to accelerate the journey from prototypes to production-ready designs. Each iteration included optimization of the Bill of Material and Design for Manufacturing techniques.

Mechanical design involves a combination of steel, zinc alloy, and plastic parts. First, we conducted rapid prototyping using CNC machining to get enclosure samples from a solid piece of metal. After initial validation, custom tooling was made to create prototypes from zinc alloy using injection moulding. At this stage,  KWLocks factory and manufacturing capabilities played a crucial role to ensure mechanical strength. After several iterations, all components were properly orchestrated, and the MoKoo came to life.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD A PROTOTYPE?

The answer will be different for each individual project. Generally speaking, it may take from several weeks to several months. The timeline for building a prototype is determined by the product type: it is much faster to prototype a digital product, such as a mobile app, than a medical device, for example.

We would be happy to explain our process, the things that can cause delays, and how we mitigate those delays.

HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF PROTOTYPE YOU NEED?

Choosing the right prototype type is vital, if we want to create a Product Prototype that ensures getting financing from investors.

There are different prototype classifications and various types of prototypes: low-fidelity, high-fidelity, interactive, static, etc. Here are just a few:

• Low-Fidelity Prototypes: they are mainly used at early stages of development. They give a general idea, a basic visual representation without going into much  detail. As a rule, they are low-cost and feasible for validation of your initial product idea.
• High-Fidelity Prototypes: they are more in-depth and elaborated, so that they approximate the intended final product. They are used to showcase the product appearance and user experience,  often at investor presentations.
• Here is a breakdown of these types:

• Interactive Prototypes: they simulate user experience and functionality. With these prototypes, you can optimise user interactions and test usability.
• Static Prototypes: static representations, they contain no interactive elements and are used to demonstrate visual design and layout concepts.
• Visual prototypes, which are also called virtual prototypes, show the desired appearance of your product.
• Functional prototypes, or working models, demonstrate how your product will work.

There also exist other prototype types, and the selection of the right type for a particular should be always based on your project phase and objective.

To make it crystal-clear, ask your stakeholders, investors or your target audience, i.e. users, what specific functionality and features should be demonstrated. Otherwise,  you can make decision independently, depending  on the goals and objectives you want to achieve with your prototype, such as:

• proving the concept 
• validating your design before placing into full production
• raising finance for further product development
• getting feedback from your target audience 
• launching a marketing campaign.

PROTOTYPING TOOLS

At AJProTech, we have a fully furnished prototyping lab for rapid prototyping and testing of new concepts. Our assets include four 3D printers, milling machines and a broad network of prototyping partners. We use:

• 3D printing in cases when rapid validation is necessary
• CNC machining for high quality samples to be made out of a solid piece of material.
• Our prototyping partners render assistance with the following:
• Silicon molding – when you need to impress someone with production-looking samples;
• Welding, painting, assembly.

To help you get your product to market faster, we can offer you rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping is a method of fast production of a model of a product or its component in order to test and validate the design. Rapid prototyping serves to get an idea of the best sequence of actions to meet the customer requirements. 

 For rapid prototyping, we utilize CNC machining and silicon molding processes. Thus, we manufacture high-quality mechanical prototypes that resemble the final product with minimum standing costs.

These samples can be demonstrated at trade shows units or presented to early customers. With our fast MVPs, you can promptly bring your product to market.

Our product development process follows the EVT / DVT / PVT workflow. We develop production-ready design with a number of reliable and sophisticated functions through iterative cycles of engineering and prototyping.

To illustrate this point, let us have a look at the tools we apply in the process of development of Industrial Bluetooth Headphones, a device that combines hearing protection with high-quality audio, Bluetooth, and Intercom radio communication. We use rapid prototyping methods, 3D printing, CNC machining and silicon moulding to manufacture the PCB and mechanical components in small lots. Then we assemble the modules and assess the acoustic efficiency, long-distance communication, Bluetooth connectivity, mechanical reliability and overall integration.

Through multiple sessions of in-house testing, we identified vital areas that require inventive power. We asked our client for assistance and feedback in testing the headphones. We went through 4 iterations of design and prototyping to achieve production-ready phase. By conducting the whole process in a single team, we managed to progress rapidly and achieve optimum integration.