The Value of Prototyping

Although much has been made recently of 3d printing for prototyping, stamping is still not only a viable, but often a preferred, method of prototyping. Here at Schwab Industries INC, our team of skilled technicians, tool designers, and die makers can take your products from good, to better, to best through prototyping.

We are traditionally a prototype shop for stamping and low run production. These core areas are what we were founded on, and we consider ourselves amongst the best in the business at what we do. With more than 30 years of hard-won experience in the prototyping business, we can help improve your designs, production flow, and help you to ultimately offer a higher quality product upon market release.

But first, we must back up just a little bit. What is prototyping? What is the value of prototyping? And who can benefit from prototyping?

What is Prototyping?

The Interaction Design Foundation, an independent and worldwide nonprofit focused on bringing Ivy League design education to individuals and teams at a fraction of the cost, defines prototyping as such: “the [prototyping] method involves producing an early, inexpensive, and scaled down version of the product in order to reveal any problems with the current design. Prototyping offers designers the opportunity to bring their ideas to life, test the practicability of the current design, and to potentially investigate how a sample of users think and feel about a product.”

In layman’s terms, a prototype is an inexpensive single-run version of a product allowing designers the ability to handle the product in the real-world and anticipate any design and production process flaws before a full production run.

Why Prototype? What is the Value?

The number one advantage of prototyping is that it ultimately reduces design costs and flaws, and generally improves efficiency in the design cycle. It may seem a bit counter-intuitive efficiency-wise to build something else before building the final version of a product, but think of it like a carpenter making a jig to improve efficiency and accuracy for a larger project, or a sculptor making a maquette to anticipate design challenges. There is a reason a multitude of industries—not just automotive and aerospace— utilize prototyping. It is a time tested method to improve the design and production processes, and ultimately, improve the final product.

Prototyping allows:

• The revelation of any problems before full production. When your designers and engineers can see the production process in the “real-world” and handle a close mock-up of the final product they can make subtle or not so subtle changes to the process and product that could not otherwise be gleaned from computer mapping or 3d printing.
• Offers designers and engineers “real-world” time and experience with the design. Nothing compares to holding it in your hands and performing tests in the physical world, if necessary.
• This offers the manufacturer the ability to provide a higher quality product guarantee. Our clients who prototype, and clients who prototype in general, receive the satisfaction of knowing the product will turn out exactly as expected. They can in turn then pass along this confidence to their clients or the end users of the product.
• Prototyping also allows the manufacturer to test how practical not only the design is, but certain elements of the production process as well. Through prototyping designers and engineers can not only further understand the final product but begin to further understand the production process as well and make improvements to workflow and tooling among other time and cost saving endeavors.

Who Can Benefit from Prototyping?

Although prototyping is not for every product, it can be useful in a bevy of instances across aerospace and automotive applications. Here at Schwab, we specialize in both automotive and aerospace prototyping, and we are happy to have our experts discuss with you the benefits or prototyping and help decide if it may be cost-effective and right for you.

If you are considering a prototype for your product, give us a call today. When you choose Schwab for any of your prototyping needs, you’ll always know you can be confident and assured in our work. With more than 30 years of successful prototyping experience, we have the track record to back up our output and the knowledge to help our clients identify and understand the best practices, tooling and materials to accomplish any project or vision they may have.

If you’d like more information on our processes or to speak with a salesperson or expert prototype technician, please contact us or call 586.566.8090

Categories: Aerospace, Automotive