- Hey guys, it's Morna.
And in this video, we're gonna be talking about
industrial design prototypes.
Now, it's one thing to go around and
try and learn all the tips and tricks
and how to make prototypes and all that stuff.
But there's actually three questions
that you should be asking before you
embark on any kind of prototype
when you're designing a product.
So, the top three questions you should ask
before making any prototype, coming up.
(upbeat music)
The first question you should ask
is why are you making a prototype (laughs)?
Okay, what is the purpose of this prototype?
Because there are at least four different types
of prototypes you could be making.
And I'm gonna be talking about those right now.
So, at the beginning of the process,
there is what's called like a working model.
And this is something that you can make very quickly.
It doesn't necessarily matter what it looks like.
And typically, a working model
is gonna be testing aspects such as the form of the product.
Okay, so you want to think about different ways
that you can generate different forms quickly,
get them made physically,
and then start testing what is the best form?
So here's an example of a project I worked on
at Designforce a couple years ago.
It's a massager.
So we were asked to redesign sort of the appearance,
the physical appearance of it.
And one of the first things that I did
was do these kind of foam studies.
So there were a few different ways that
the massager could be held.
One of the things that I was trying to do
was just look at a couple different forms
and then see what they feel like in the hand.
Now one thing that you'll probably notice
with these foam models
is that they are pretty sketchy looking.
I have not spent any time trying to make them look beautiful
that's not the purpose here.
The other thing that's gonna be tested is the size.
How big or small this thing should be?
And now specially when it's something
that has some kind of human factor related to it.
Like, it's handheld.
So that's one thing that you are going to
be wanting to test.
So coming back to our massager example,
after I did those rough foam models,
then I did some renderings,
and then quickly moved into CAD,
once we had an idea of which direction.
So once I had a form I was happy with,
the next step was to print the CAD
and test the size and form.
So for this product,
the diameter of this portion could only be so small.
Because inside there was the motor, the electronics,
the screws, and screw bosses
that hold the two parts together, etc.
However, there was some latitude with
the size of this upper portion.
So the plan for prototyping was to split the form.
And we printed one base, which is the white part you'll see.
And created different top parts of varying sizes,
that were kind of interchangeable,
so that we could test out different top parts.
One of the purposes of doing it this way was speed.
To print out the entire prototype took a long time,
and we only really needed to test the top portion.
We knew that we would probably need a few go arounds
to test the top portion.
So this was an efficient way of doing that.
I also wanted to mention that
if you are creating a working model to test something out,
don't be afraid to buy something,
cut it apart, like if you see something that's existing
that is a product in the world,
and you're like, oh,
I could use half of that or one piece of it,
and all you have to do is go and buy it,
that is a very efficient way of
being able to figure something out quickly.
And one example I'll tell you that comes to mind,
when we designed a shopping cart,
one thing that is, well there's multiple things
that are very similar to shopping carts.
I mean you think of anything that has wheels
and people push or pull it, right?
And so similar things are like,
you know, golf carts, or one thing is a stroller.
So what we did is we went and
purchased a secondhand stroller
and then started cutting it up and starting to
figure out some things, some aspect of the design
with this kind of like, kind of half (laughs)
half stroller, half prototype.
I mean it did not, it was pretty confused looking.
But it helped us to think through
some aspects of the design and figure
something out quickly in an efficient way.
So don't be afraid to do that in your working models.
So, number two is what's called an appearance model.
Now appearance models, first of all,
the purpose of that type of model
is (laughs) just like the name sounds.
Making it appear to be like your concept.
So they could be used at different points
in the product development process
for taking to trade shows to start showing people
what your concept is.
They could be shown to buyers.
They could be shown to investors.
They could be used in promotional material
for marketing material.
So they could be, you know you could take photographs
of your appearance models and
use those photographs in marketing material
to promote your product.
Now it really depends exactly
where you are in the process and
what you're trying to achieve with the appearance model.
But just know that just because
something looks like it's real,
doesn't mean it will actually A, work.
Okay so you could make appearance models that just
look like the real thing, but do not function.
Or you could have appearance models that also function.
Yeah, so it really depends.
So number three is the test and
verification type of prototype.
And this is further along in the process.
Closer to the end of the process than
necessarily the beginning.
Prototypes for testing and verification
typically have like a lot more details in them.
You're starting to test out the design,
all the details in the design.
Does it go together?
Are there interferences?
You know just because you do an interference check
and in your CAD program doesn't necessarily mean,
there could be an interference you don't know about.
You make these prototypes for testing out the assembly.
Like is it possible?
Have you designed your parts in such a way
that where it's possible to put them together?
If it's a product with electronics,
you can be testing your designed plastic housing
with the real electronics so you can,
you're verifying all the fits
and that things go together and it works.
Yeah so, that is that.
Number four is low volume, pre-production
prototypes for beta testing.
Now these are things that the purpose
of this type or prototype,
you want to make maybe 10, 15 different models,
and put them in the hands of your users.
So, before you go and spend a bunch of money
on manufacturing, you are making a smaller volume
of things, of products that work
so that you can test them out and get feedback from people.
And then implement those changes
into the design before manufacturing.
And actually where I work at Designforce,
we delivered like, I think, 15 prototypes,
working prototypes for, it was a medical wearable,
and they had to function because
they are now being used for medical trials.
So that's sort of in the process,
but I can't really tell you what it is.
But it's pretty cool (laughs).
So, yeah, that's what that is.
The second question is what is the ideal
material and method for prototyping?
Okay, so once you've established
what your purpose is for making this prototype,
and also you can just let the,
where you are in the process can somewhat guide you
in terms of the type of prototype you are making.
Once you know that,
you can start to figure out the material and method.
Any kind of foam models or card models, like paper card,
or 3D printing are all kind of
appropriate materials and/or process for working models.
And they can help you figure out
things like the form and size very quickly.
And just keep that in mind that
all you're trying to do at this stage
is figure a few things out quickly.
And once you know those kind of,
you can kind of knock those things off your list,
then you can get into the more detailed kind of prototypes.
One thing I wanted to mention is that
whenever I think about the materials made for prototyping
and how that translates into a final product,
I always think of the story by Barber Osgerby.
They're an English duo designer.
I think I read it somewhere where
one of them had said that, you know one of the reasons why
a lot of their products were made in sheet metal
is because their kind of working method,
how they developed models and prototypes
was using paper card.
So if you think of paper card, it's a sheet material.
Right?
So in making these kind of mock ups, models, concepts,
that material really had an influence
on the final, not only the final form,
but the final material and manufacturing process.
Which I think is really interesting.
I think you can also think about this in a creative way.
And how using specific materials in your working models
can translate into real actual materials and process
in the manufactured good.
So, I wanted to share that with you.
So the third question is,
and it is getting kind of dark in here,
but does your prototype need to function?
Now answering this question is going to mean
how much work you need to do in order to
prepare your prototype to work.
Prepare your prototype, your files, to be prototyped.
Now what do I mean by that?
If your prototype needs to function,
or if there are multiple parts in the assembly,
that need to fit together in some sort of assembly,
you're gonna need to figure out
more of the details about how these
different parts relate to each other,
so that they will either, A, stay together,
or B, function in whatever way they need to function.
There is this idea, well it's not an idea,
there is one aspect of the product design process,
which is called design for manufacturing, or DFM.
And it's the idea that once you have your final design,
then all of those parts need to be designed,
this is a separate activity.
You take all those parts,
they need to be designed for manufacturing.
And I think what some people don't understand
is that when you're making a prototype,
there is a similar process that needs to happen.
You'll have your concept, files, okay?
But then you need to design all of those parts
in order to make them so that you can make the prototype.
You need to detail those parts for your prototype.
Okay so there's kind of a similar process
that needs to happen.
It's similar to design for manufacturing,
but it's like design for prototyping.
And it entirely depends on the process
that you've chosen to use for your prototypes,
and whether or not they have to function or not,
if there are multiple parts that need to stay together,
or what is the situation?
So that's the video.
I hope you enjoyed it.
And, you know, if you did, if you found value in this video,
I always appreciate it if you share my videos,
or like them, or comment.
I'll see you next time.