Proof-of-Principle Prototypes

Proof-of-Principle (PoP) Prototypes are one cornerstone of engineering design. PoP, referred to as Proof-of-Concept, prototyping is an effective way to rapidly take ideas from intangible designs to tangible, working models. We have a professional team that offers flexibility and build the best PoP model.

Developing these prototypes enables the designer to demonstrate the fundamental technology used in the product that requires fabrication. It allows you to test your solution by ensuring that the functions are intended or envisioned. It creates fabricated prototypes from a CAD model that gives product developers a competitive edge by reducing design iteration times and associated costs.

Proof-of-Principle Prototypes

Our offered services from ASTCAD describes methods, advantages, and disadvantages of the essential rapid prototyping processes. It uses product design engineers to meet development milestones. By taking your design from a CAD model to a proof-of-principle prototype, we accelerate design and add new products to market more efficiently. We used the proper process and CAD models that quickly transformed into a working prototype. Get the best intellectual function model with a mechanically feasible solution.

POP PROTOTYPE ADVANTAGES

Advantages Of POP Prototyping Include:

• Reduces product development time.
• Makes design flaws apparent.
• Reduces product development costs.
• Results in higher quality end products.
• Offers a demonstration tool for obtaining user feedback.
• Makes potential future system enhancements clear to engineers and inventors.

POP PROTOTYPE DISADVANTAGES

Disadvantages Of PoP Prototyping Include:

• It may not include all of the features of a more complex complete system.
• It cannot be used in place of rigorous system analysis.
• It may not be representative of the full functionality of the end product.
• Can lead to over-confidence in the solution.

PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE PROTOTYPING METHODS AND PROCESSES

We find several ways to design your prototype. It is referred to as Rapid Prototyping, where the methods offer an initial fabrication of your design. The processes create prototypes which include Additive Processes. It’s the part used to build built-in subsequent layers, where the material is removed to make the final product called Injection Moulding. The thermoplastics are injected into harmful moulds and cast using urethane thermoset resins.

• The additive processes build using plastic parts are layer by layer directly from a 3D CAD model. The 3D printers are developed for most additive processes and gained tremendous acclaim.
• The Stereolithography (SLA) lasers cure thin layers of liquid UV-sensitive photopolymer. The SLA is cost-effective and used to produce intricate parts. It offers the best look and feels with the finished product. However, it tends to make parts that are relatively weak and have little UV stability due to the UV curing process.
• Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) works similar to SLA. It uses layers of extruded thermoplastic to create the part. The method offers complex, structurally sound roles and can use for limited mechanical and functional testing. The surface finish is poor compared to other methods as defined.
• Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is one method that creates the best part adhering to layers of polymer powder that cured using a laser. SLS prototypes are made with more complexity than parts made with SLA. Additionally, the details tend to have a rough texture and poor mechanical properties.
• Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) mainly uses laser-generated heat that sinter thin layers of metal powders, including steel, cobalt-chromium, stainless steel, and titanium, to generate prototypes. DMLS parts offer highly realistic details and are less cost-effective than their plastic counterparts. It often leads designers to produce cheaper plastic and use prototypes that have the product fully machined.
• The Polyjet uses a process that utilizes jetting heads and UV curing bulbs, which apply consecutive material layers in multiple colours and durometer in a single build. The method offers a representation of multi-material parts with excellent surface finish quality. The mechanical properties use the Polyjet process with ease.
• Subtractive processes come with raw material and machine away with excess volume to produce a final part.
• CNC Machining (CNC) is also one the most common example. It uses CNC machining, a part that can be produced from almost any variety of materials that include both plastics and metal. The advantages of CNC machined parts are highly accurate, made with the mechanical properties of the final product, and come with a highly polished and professional finish. Limitations include fewer complex geometries due to the tooling nature and significantly higher costs.
• Injection Moulding is a popular prototyping process that cures thermoplastics into a mould from soft metal. The process is highly cost-effective and uses only one method representing the volume production fabrication. A wide range of resins is used with different properties and allow the parts to match up with the properties of the final product. The final cost per unit is typically different and is inexpensive, even after factoring in the cost of the mould. Still, the initial non-recurring engineering cost of the mould requires a significant up-front investment.
• Casting is similar to injection moulding and uses a master model that fabricates using another method like SLA to create a silicone rubber mould. Liquid urethane thermoset resin is then used to generate the prototype. The urethane can be made to match any colour or texture. It uses highly cost-effective parts and has limited use in functional testing.

Whatever your proof-of-principle prototype requires, a suitable rapid prototype is used with a CAD model and material/finish selection. It is essential to consider the method, time to fabricate, cost of the prototype part, and the manufacturer, as the quality of a part varies rapidly between one fabricator and the next.