Importance of Shanghai Prototype Model to Industrial Design Process
Generally, 80% of the production cost is determined in the design stage, which is an important link to control the product cost. In the current product R&D process of enterprises, industrial design has always played an important role in overall planning. At the beginning of industrial design, the decision was made to comprehensively consider the whole cycle of product design positioning, cost control, production and manufacturing, quality inspection, publicity and display, marketing and recycling, which had a far-reaching impact. In the industrial design process, model making is an important link. From purely manual model making to semi mechanized model making to modern CAM, the progress of Shanghai prototype model making is a microcosm of the progress of modern manufacturing technology. Practice has proved that prototype model making not only plays a very important role in product design decisions, but also is a sharp tool for product information confidentiality and market promotion. Next, we will look at the importance of prototype making from different stages of the industrial design process.
1、 Design optimization
Modern industrial design covers a wide range of contents, ranging from paper clips and ball pens to airplanes and ships. However, the design methods of so many products are different. Mechanical parts that focus on geometric figures can be directly designed through computer graphics, and motion simulation experiments can be carried out to a certain extent through the dynamic rules of computer 3D software. For some products with curved surfaces, such as small household appliances, on the one hand, they can be designed directly through computers, on the other hand, they can also obtain 3D modeling data through 3D mapping with reverse engineering technology (commonly known as counting), and smooth correction can be made through the difference algorithm of computers. The corrected 3D model data can be used for the production of hand models. This method has more obvious advantages when designing works of art that focus on surface modeling changes. Because the appearance modeling of works of art focuses on the direct aesthetic feelings of people, there are often no rules to follow, and it is difficult to find regular geometric elements in them. If you directly carry out computer 3D drawing, you will get half the result with twice the effort. Even if you build a model, its subsequent modification is also very poor. If you do the opposite, First, the modeling designer directly shapes the shape with materials such as oil sludge, then parameterizes the model through 3D scanning equipment, obtains the computer data of the original model, and then further makes and processes it through the prototype rapid modeling equipment, which can greatly improve the design efficiency.
2、 Design discussion
In the process of product design, discussion is very important. Visualization is an important part of product design expression and the cornerstone of design discussion. Building product models quickly and effectively can achieve higher design efficiency at the same time. In the stage of design creativity, 2D representation based on drawings is often used. However, in the middle and later stages, the design will be more specific, and a more specific and intuitive prototype should be used as the object of discussion. Compared with the 2D representation of the plane, the hand model has irreplaceable advantages. The prototype model can make the details of the product more clear, and the visual perception of the product more intuitive. Everyone in the design team can view these designs, which has obvious advantages in coordinating the work of the whole team.
3、 Function test
The production of the prototype can do some functional tests, simulate the final shape of the product, including functional shape, curved surface shape, etc. Using materials with a certain strength, you can produce a functional prototype with internal structure, to check whether the structure of the product is reasonable, whether the wall thickness meets the requirements, whether the moving parts are smooth, etc. Hand model can also be used for aerodynamic test. For example, in the design of high-speed moving objects such as automobiles, high-speed trains or spacecraft, 1:1 models can be made and put into wind tunnels for intuitive aerodynamic research.
4、 Reduce costs
A design defect that costs 1000 yuan to produce and test may cause a huge loss of 10 million yuan if it is put into production and market. In many cases, this problem is fatal. It is necessary to steadily advance the design process, so it is very important to timely find and correct the defects in the product design process in the early stage of product design, so as to avoid problems in subsequent production. Model making is an important link that we can use. Through the production of the prototype, the final shape, size, structure or color test of the product can be obtained at a lower cost, and important information such as product volume and quality can be predicted, which can effectively control the packaging cost, transportation cost and raw material cost consumed in production. The sales price and profit of the product are estimated. If the cost exceeds the initial design assumption, it can be adjusted in time until it reaches the target range of the cost. The production of prototype is an effective means of enterprise cost control.
5、 Product confidentiality
As an important part of the company's core competitiveness, product design needs to be kept strictly confidential in the design stage. The division of labor in modern manufacturing industry is becoming more and more detailed. The advantage of design outsourcing is that it can save the cost of establishing an independent design organization within the enterprise, and reduce the risk of product research and development. However, it also brings the difficulty of product confidentiality. Even if the enterprise has its own research and development organization, If the model stage still needs to be completed by an external design agency, there is still the possibility of leakage of design secrets, so now large manufacturing enterprises generally have their own independent research and development institutions, with their own prototype production equipment, so that the research and development process of new products can be completed independently within the design team of the enterprise, reducing the contact with external service agencies, so as to ensure that the design data will not be leaked to a large extent, Protect the design secrets of the enterprise.
6、 Market research
The display of flat display boards or 3D animation demonstration to potential customers in the trade fair will not be more attractive than the prototype model. The simulation model can intuitively show the shape, color, size, structure, function and other information of the product. The production of prototype model is a convenient and fast initial performance of the product. You can make models of different initial plans, and conduct market research through exhibitions or through the actual verification of end customers. You can also use the rapid prototype technology to reproduce models in small batches, and send the product models to different regions for investigation, so as to obtain more market differentiated survey data. Prototype technology can predict the actual psychological effect and use effect of end consumers before mass production.
