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Pcb Right Angle

Rapid Prototyping

Definition of a Prototype

A prototype is an important and vital part of the product development process. In any design practice, the word "prototype" is often not far from the things that the designers will be involved in. In most dictionaries, it is defined as a noun, e.g. the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English defines it as A prototype is the first or original example of something that has been or will be copied or developed; it is a model or preliminary version; e.g.: A prototype supersonic aircraft. However, in design, it often means more than just an artefact. It has often been used as a verb, e.g. prototype an engine design for engineering evaluation, or as an adjective, e.g. build a prototype printed circuit board (PCB).

To be general enough to be able to cover all aspects of the meaning of the word prototype for use in design, it is very loosely defined here as: An approximation of a product (or system) or its components in some form for a definite purpose in its implementation. This very general definition departs from the usual accepted concept of the prototype being physical. It covers all kinds of prototypes used in the product development process, including objects like mathematical models, pencil sketches, foam models, and of course the functional physical approximation of the product. Prototyping is the process of realizing these prototypes. Here, the process can range from just an execution of a computer program to the actual building of a functional prototype.

Types of Prototypes

The general definition of the prototype contains three aspects of interests: (1) The implementation of the prototype; from the entire product (or system) itself to its sub-assemblies and components, (2) The form of the prototype; from a virtual prototype to a physical prototype, and (3) The degree of the approximation of the prototype; from a very rough representation to an exact replication of the product.

The implementation aspect of the prototype covers the range of prototyping the complete product (or system) to prototyping part of, or a sub-assembly or a component of the product. The complete prototype, as its name suggests, models most, if not all, the characteristics of the product. It is usually implemented full-scale as well as being fully functional. One example of such prototype is one that is given to a group of carefully selected people with special interest, often called a focus group, to examine and identify outstanding problems before the product is committed to its final design.

On the other hand, there are prototypes that are needed to study or investigate special problems associated with one component, sub-assemblies or simply a particular concept of the product that requires close attention. An example of such a prototype is a test platform that is used to find the comfortable rest angles of an office chair that will reduce the risk of spinal injuries after prolonged sitting on such a chair. Most of the time, sub-assemblies an components are tested in conjunction with some kind of test rigs or experimental platform. The second aspect of the form of the prototype takes into account how the prototype is being implemented. On one end, virtual prototypes that refers to prototypes that are nontangible, usually represented in some form other than physical, e.g. mathematical model of a control system .

Such prototypes are usually studied and analyzed. The conclusions drawn are purely based upon the assumed principles or science that has been understood up to that point in time. An example is the visualization of airflow over an aircraft wing to ascertain lift and drag on the wing during supersonic flight. Such prototype is often used when either the physical prototype is too large and therefore takes too long to build, or the building of such a prototype is exorbitantly expensive. The main drawback of these kinds of prototypes is that they are based on current understanding and thus they will not be able to predict any unexpected phenomenon. It is very poor or totally unsuitable for solving unanticipated problems. The physical model, on the other hand, is the tangible manifestation of the product, usually built for testing and experimentation.

Examples of such prototypes include a mock-up of a cellular telephone that looks and feels very much like the real product but without its intended functions. Such a prototype may be used purely for aesthetic and human factors evaluation. The third aspect covers the degree of approximation or representativeness of the prototype. On one hand, the model can be a very rough representation of the intended product, like a foam model, used primarily to study the general form and enveloping dimensions of the product in its initial stage of development. Some rough prototypes may not even look like the final product, but are used to test and study certain problems of the product development. An example of this is the building of catches with different material to find the right "clicking" sound for a cassette player door.

On the other hand, the prototype can be an exact full scale exact replication of the product that models every aspects of the product, e.g. the pre-production prototype that is used not only to satisfy customer needs evaluation but also addressing manufacturing issues and concerns. Such "exact" prototypes are especially important towards the end-stage of the product development process. Rapid Prototyping (RP) can be defined as a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a part or assembly using three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data. What is commonly considered to be the first RP technique, Stereolithography, was developed by 3D Systems of Valencia, CA, USA. The company was founded in 1986, and since then, a number of different RP techniques have become available.

Rapid Prototyping has also been referred to as solid free-form manufacturing; computer automated manufacturing, and layered manufacturing. RP has obvious use as a vehicle for visualization. In addition, RP models can be used for testing, such as when an airfoil shape is put into a wind tunnel. RP models can be used to create male models for tooling, such as silicone rubber molds and investment casts.

In some cases, the RP part can be the final part, but typically the RP material is not strong or accurate enough. When the RP material is suitable, highly convoluted shapes (including parts nested within parts) can be produced because of the nature of RP.

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Itua Odion Peter