High quality prototypes
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ITERATING AND PROTOTYPING
Making better quality prototypes using a variety of materials and methods is an essential way of developing your ideas once you have some sketches and sketch models, plus a good idea of where you want to take your design. You'll need to think about a few things first:
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What aspect of the design you want to explore - is it aesthetic, functional, mechanical? (this will determine the method you use)
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Dimensions (you will need to have thought about some measurements in relation to parts of your design you want to explore)
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Orthographic sketches (this will make it easier to build a better prototype)
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An understanding of the functionality and mechanisms involved in your design (because these are the kind of details you are going to begin developing)
Physical prototyping
Whether you are exploring aesthetics, functionality or mechanisms, physical prototyping is going to most likely be one of the methods you use. Some of the materials and processes you can use include:
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Blue foam (cutting and shaping - suitable for exploring things like ergonomics)
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Foam board (can be cut and slotted or glued, layered etc)
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Good quality card (cut, fold, laser cut)
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Balsa wood (cut and glue)
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Acrylic (laser cut, engrave, bend)
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MDF (layer, join, glue, make moulds for vacuum forming)
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Laser ply (laser cut)
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HIPS/Polypropelyne/PVC (vacuum form)
How would you go about modelling this design concept?
What materials would/could you use?
What tools could you use?
Making iterative mechanical models... start simply, take one component/movement at a time.
Electronic prototyping
It may be that your design has functionality that would be best served by including electronic components, microcontrollers, etc. If this is the case then there are a range of ways that you can prototype this aspect of your design, either as a separate prototype or alongside some of the methods above.
Virtual breadboarding and microcontroller programming online - simple and appropriate to this stage of development.
Image credit: Tinkercad
You can also use a physical breadboard, a microcontroller which you program yourself, or a kit such as Grove
Image credit: Grove electronics
Apps and websites
Your design idea might have functionality that links to an app or a website - this means that you will need to prototype those as well.
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There are many many options available to you online for virtual app and web development. Make sure that they are free and that you are not being asked to subscribe to anything. Try:
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App building tools
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Web building tools
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