The term Rapid Prototyping (or RP) is used in a variety of industries to describe a process for rapidly creating a system or part representation before final release or commercialization. In other words, the emphasis is on creating something quickly and that the output is a prototype or basis model from which further models and eventually the final product will be derived. Management consultants and software engineers both use the term Rapid Prototyping to describe a process of developing business and software solutions in a piecewise fashion that allows clients to test ideas and provide feedback during the development process. In a product development context, the term rapid prototyping was used widely to describe technologies which created physical prototypes directly from digital data.

Rapid Prototyping Advantages

Rapid prototyping provides engineer, design and development teams with distinct advantage such as:

• The ability to explore and realize concepts more quickly. This efficiency in time and cost allows teams to move beyond the mere visualization of a product, making it easier to grasp the properties and design of a product.
• Apply repeated designs and incorporate changes that allow for the evaluation and testing of the product. This iterative process provides a roadmap to developing and refining the final product.
• The ability to thoroughly test and refine a concept. Being able to minimize design flaws with a small volume rapid prototype run helps eliminate costly design flaws that might not be evident during an early assessment.
• Save time and money since setup and tooling aren’t necessary. Because the same equipment can be used to produce prototypes with different properties and materials, the costs and time outlay are kept to a minimum.