Improving Product Design through Rapid Prototype as Design

Abstract

Design teams are often expected to produce physical prototypes that demonstrate the working principles of the products they are designing within tight time-frames. The use of a ‘rapid prototype as design’ (RPaD) methodology, combined with the ability to effectively integrate the many existing and emerging virtual and physical rapid prototyping technologies into the development process increases the potential of producing new high technology products in shorter timeframes. The paper presents a set of case study projects, undertaken by product design students at Auckland University of Technology, in which extensive use was made of RPaD