Advantages & Benefits of Rapid Prototyping

Technology has improved by leaps and bounds with increased efficiency in the use of tools and equipment, materials and processes. Rapid prototyping is definitely no exception. It is undoubtedly one of the most advanced processes that manufacturers and designers have in their toolbox.

Rapid prototyping quickly develops prototypes or new models that can be used for testing design features, concepts, and performance.  Prototypes can be printed on a range of materials including acrylic plastic, ABS plastic, and flexible rubber. They can be made to look and feel like the real product for field testing before manufacturing on a larger scale.

Let’s take a look at some of the major advantages of rapid prototyping:

Customized Prototypes

What if I told you that you could get customized products that completely meet your needs? Well, it’s true. Rapid prototyping allows you to factor in each customer’s requirements to create a customized product. That’s a win-win situation: a one-of-a-kind item that won’t hurt your pocket and can be sold at a premium, as there’s nothing else like it in the world!

Reduced Costs

Enjoy significant reductions in your marketing budget.  Since customers get to have a say in the design of the prototype, you don’t need to focus on heavy advertising. Instead, you build your audience at the same time as building your product, in a Kickstarter-esque type model. Therefore, you minimize your advertising costs and can pass on these savings to your customers (or just keep some extra profit to invest back into your business or next holiday).

Increased Profits

Rapid prototyping doesn’t require new tools for each product, which means no new specialized equipment purchases are required.  Also, you will require less manpower because the processes to produce prototypes are largely automated. These manufacturing cost reductions will eventually increase your profits.

Increased Purchases

A design, photo or video of a product can be deceptive.  Customers may want to touch and feel a prototype and have a closer look to ensure the product meets their needs.  Prototypes allow that tactile interaction with the product. This is great for buy-in, especially from investors, but prototypes can also be used for marketing purposes at tradeshows, festivals, etc. to increase interest and therefore purchases down the line.

Immediate Feedback

Rapid prototyping allows you to get hands-on feedback with the prototype during each stage of production. You’ll get to see and touch a replica of your finished product, and give feedback to the designer. He will then make alterations or incorporate new features to create the perfect final product. Imagine how different this is to just having a computer mock-up of a product and trying to see if there are design flaws in it.

Increased Market Visibility

In order to compete in the global market, companies need to have designs and prototypes readily available. Your ideas need to be more appealing and produced faster than your competitors’.  Another advantage of the rapid prototyping process is that it allows you to create complex designs and produce models that may have been difficult to produce using conventional prototyping, and to create them very quickly. The quicker you can prototype and finalize your product, the quicker you can mass produce it and get the final to market. Being early to market can mean the difference between thriving and bankruptcy, so this is important.

Create More Complex Products With Less Hassle

Rapid prototyping facilitates the production of more realistic and complex products.  In intricate situations, you can try out an idea or test an incomplete solution.  Even the airline industry uses vital complex parts that are produced using rapid prototyping to run tests before going into wider production. 

Rapid prototyping is increasingly being used in various industries as it satisfies the needs of many companies.  You can turn intricate designs into prototypes that can easily be modified. You can also boost customer satisfaction by delivering customized products quickly and at affordable prices.

With so many great benefits, rapid prototyping is the way to go. So, what are you waiting for? To take advantage of this amazing technology give us a call on 1-888-202-2052 or email jason@jcadusa.com!