The thrill of seeing your idea come to life
For many inventors, seeing their ideas come to fruition can be one of life’s greatest thrills. However, if done prematurely, prototyping can also result in an unnecessary expense or even a total waste of money. But even the simplest products usually go through at least two rounds of prototyping.
Here is a brief description of the various stages of prototyping, followed by a sad example of what not to do.
Concept-stage prototypes
Concept-stage prototypes are non-functioning “discussion starters”. Their primary purpose is to ideate the scope, function and intended use of the concept to the development team. Input from fellow collaborators will help flesh out the concept for designers and engineers.
In many cases, concept-stage prototypes can be made of just about anything. Common materials include: wood, cardboard, Styrofoam, modeling clay, or even wads of aluminum foil and duct tape. It really doesn’t matter. They only serve as a conversation starter for the development team.
Proof-of-concept (PoC) prototypes
Proof-of-concept prototypes demonstrate the primary feature(s) of the new concept for investors, licensees and stakeholders. They usually exclude the basic elements of the complete product at this stage. These focus on one or two of the main elements of the final product rather than the entire device. In other words, it may be a “cup holder” as apposed to the entire automobile.
Tangible representation prototypes
Here’s where things start getting exciting, with a tangible prototype that looks and feels like the real thing. These are similar to movie props. They look and feel real but do not actually function.
Functional prototypes
These are used for product testing and for collecting feedback from the targeted customer demographic and potential retailers.
Pre-production grade prototype
This is the last step prior to cutting tools (making molds) and going into production. These are used to verify the final version of the product. Relatively speaking, production-grade prototypes can be very expensive, depending on the product. However, this is by far the most important phase of prototyping and is essential to a successful product launch. This is the manufacturer’s last chance to identify and correct problems before the product goes into production.
In addition to the generalizations listed above, additional prototypes are often required throughout the development process. The total number will usually depend on the complexity of the product and number of contributors involved in the design process. A good example would be the challenge of collaborating with contributors in multiple locations and time zones, who speak different languages.
A Sad Example of Wasteful Prototyping
A few years ago, AON Invent did a concept assessment (Step-2) for a brilliant inventor who was an industrial designer by trade. This gentleman was very talented and when we received his sketches, it was obvious that he had spent a great deal of time thinking through the complexities of his product concept.
Unfortunately, our evaluation panel unanimously agreed that his concept was the metaphorical equivalence of a ten-pound solution to a one-pound problem and therefore assessed the invention as “commercially non-viable” – awarding it “2 stars” on our 3-star scale.
But after reading our assessment, this inventor called to inform us that he had not been completely transparent during our consultation call. He said, “I was hoping you guys could help get my invention to market, but you ended up telling me the same thing I heard from the companies I’ve already shown it to.”
Enthusiasm turned into a half-million dollar mistake
After reading the Step 2 results, the inventor said he wished he would have ordered our $249 assessment seven years ago. Then he went on to say that had “invested” nearly half a million dollars on his product concept. That included $72,000 for patents for the U.S. and Canada and close to $400,000 on a prototype, which he then offered to ship to us for a physical examination.
It was difficult to give this gentleman more bad news. But there was no need to ship his 300lb. prototype halfway across the country. His concept could have been evaluated without a working prototype. And its functional details could easily have been addressed in the production-engineering phase. That is, if it had gone that far. In other words, his prototype was unnecessary at that stage.
After a short pause, he said, “Then it looks like I’ve wasted half a million dollars and 7 years of my life and now I’m probably going to lose my home.”
Prototyping Strategies at AON Invent
At AON Invent, we understand the importance and proper use of prototyping and the challenges it presents. To mitigate costs and streamline the development process, we utilize our in-house 3D printers. They are great for proof-of-concept prototypes, checking engineering cads and comparing revisions of individual components of a larger assembly.
The Role of Xometry in Prototyping
When projects require higher quality prototypes than we can do in-house, we depend on Xometry.com.
Xometry has become an invaluable partner to our engineering team. Whether plastic injection molding, advanced 3D printing, intricate sheet metal or CNC machining, we often refer our customers to Xometry. This saves time and money by our not-having to mark up the prototype and allowing our team to focus on other critical aspects of the project.
Xometry’s website offers a seamless experience where we can upload a file, choose a manufacturing process and material, and usually get a price in a matter of seconds. But just as importantly, it gives AON Invent and our customers the benefit of state-of-the-art rapid prototyping without having to make continuous capital investments to keep up with technological advancements.