The machines and devices you see and use in your everyday life was at some point non-existent. It was an idea and a group of engineers that brought it to its present existence. But how did they do that? How was it possible to create a machine that wasn’t in existence before? Simply put, it all starts with an idea. Experts develop the idea into procedures and stages to be followed in order to create the object being thought of. Once the procedures are developed, they get to the manufacturing stage and produce a ‘prototype’.
This prototype is the first of its kind and is often the experimental stage where researchers or engineers test out the prototype to see if it fulfils the demands and requirements it was developed for. If there are any deficiencies or absence of a particular feature then the previous steps are repeated to add in the new feature and test out again. This whole process is repeated until a final prototype is achieved which can fulfil al requirements and criteria expected from it. The prototype is then copied and manufactured on a large scale to produce the line of product.
How are products developed?
So, that is how the toothbrush you use today was first developed. It is all stemmed from a single idea. But to reach from the stage of designing to manufacturing, major prototyping techniques and methods are used in the present era to make idea a reality. No longer do engineers and researchers create things manually. With advancement of technology, particularly Computer Aided Designing (CAD), we have come a long way in designing and developing new inventions and featuresevery day. Along with the strategic use of Computer Aided Designing, there are other methods such as rapid tooling, rapid prototyping, etc. which ARE extensively used to design and develop new prototypes at greater speed and defined accuracy.
How does techniques like rapid tooling work?
It’s quite simple actually. Developers and designers create a CAD file for the prototype using CAD software remotely. This CAD files contains the instructions for a machine/computer to follow in order to create the prototype. This CAD file is then fed into the systems of a rapid tooling machine such as 3D printers. The device follows the specific codes and instructions bit by bit and is able to create the exact prototype as instructed.
This way with a combination of computer aided designs and tooling techniques, the manufacturing industry is able to develop new products every day. In the current era where something new is needed everyday with new findings and demands it has become all the more important to create prototypes at a rapid speed. Not only are the prototypes used to create new products altogether but also to correct or improve existing product models.
The repeated testing and trials make sure that it works perfectly and has no defects before it is launched in the market. This technology of rapid tooling is developing more and more in the recent years and promises to serve better results in the coming future.