Car Prototyping

Creating a prototype of a product is an essential thing for effective and better manufacturing. A prototype gives an idea to the manufacturer about the resultant product that he can produce using a particular design.

It is also very important for the manufacturer to learn about the interests of the public in the product that he wants to manufacture. In order to learn about this, he can produce a prototype of that product. Similarly, creating prototypes of large vehicles and airplanes is essential to avoid future complications like extra cost and time expenditure, etc.

Creating a car prototype helps the manufacturer to better understand the flaws and shortcomings in their design. This allows them to work on that design and make it better than before.

Figure 1 – Car Prototyping

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   What Technologies Are Used for Car Prototyping?

There are a number of manufacturing technologies that manufacturers prefer for car prototyping. Among them, some of the most popular names are CNC machining and rapid prototyping. These two technologies are high in demand for the production of prototypes for cars.

Similarly, you can use some other technologies for car prototyping, that are 3D printing and vacuum casting. Both of them are nicely suitable to be used for the production of prototypes. However, they aren’t that much popular as CNC machining and rapid prototyping.

• CNC Machining

An automatic and highly effective manufacturing technology that works by CAD design is called CNC machining. Nowadays, this machining technology plays a key role in the automotive industry by allowing the manufacturers to produce greater parts of vehicles.

With CNC machining, you can manufacture car prototypes that give much to learn about the actual product. It can also help you effectively test the CAD design and its working.

You can opt for CNC machining to produce many prototypes in very little time and less cost. These properties make this machining technology the most reliable and useful one for creating car prototypes. With CNC machining, you can create your prototype from plastic, metal, or any other material that can be machined using automatic machinery.

• 3D Printing

Another most important technology that is by the manufacturers for a longer time for prototyping is 3D printing. 3D printing is a simple yet the best manufacturing process. The manufacturing companies for the production of kid’s toys often use it.

3D printing can also be a great choice for the manufacturing of car prototypes. In 3D printing, layer after layer is deposited on one another, and at last, the prototype is manufactured.

Due to the continuous addition of layers of material, this technology is usually called additive machining. Just like CNC technology the 3D printing also works by the CAD design. The computer converts the CAD design into the commands that manufacture the car prototype.

3D printing is one of the highly used machining technology by the manufacturers of China for car prototyping.

Figure 2 – Prototype Of Car

• Rapid Prototyping

Another most crucial machining technology for car prototyping is rapid prototyping. For a long time, this machining technology had remained under the focus of a significant number of manufacturers and suppliers of china for car prototyping.

Car prototyping is a process that requires a manufacturer to produce every aspect of the prototype for better learning about the car. And in this regard, rapid prototyping has already got great fame of use.

Just like CNC and 3D printing, rapid prototyping is also done using the CAD design, which gives commands to the machinery for production. Rapid prototyping is both subtractive and compressive. In-car prototyping, you can use both subtractive and compressive processes to produce the prototype in the best way.

• Injection molding

Injection molding is also an essential machining technology used for car prototyping. Its manufacturing speed is very low in comparison to CNC and rapid prototyping.

However, this type of machining is better to be used for car prototyping from plastic, etc.

• Sheet Metal Prototyping

Sheet metal prototyping is another popular manufacturing technology used for creating the best quality car prototypes. This machinery is prepared in such a way as they contain a number of rolling devices that speed up your manufacturing process for car prototyping.

Figure 3 – Engine prototyped

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   Why is 3D printing Considered Best for Car Prototyping?

3D printing being advanced, cheaper, and faster, is considered the best technology for car prototyping. there are so many other reasons too, among which some of the most popular are given as under:

• Customization

In comparison to other machining technologies, the reason that makes 3D printing the best for car prototyping is customization. This machining technology provides you more customization options, thus giving you open ways to design and manufacture the product totally according to your own taste.

• Less Labor

In 3D printing, you don’t require many labors for car prototyping. Instead, you will need only a single person who can manage the working process of prototype production. This gives you greater benefits like reduced cost, better time saving, and many other benefits.

• Complex Prototypes

With 3D printing, you can manufacture the most complex prototype for your car. There are some modern designs for automobiles that are very complex. This makes it tough for the manufacturer to produce such car prototypes.

As 3D printing allows you to manufacture complex parts, a manufacturer can easily manufacture such prototypes using it.

Figure 4 CAD Design Of Car

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   How Does Rapid Prototyping Work for Car Prototyping?

Like CNC machining technology and 3D printing, rapid prototyping also works by the CAD design produced by an engineer. This design is added to the computer. The computer analyzes and figures out the faults in the design. After everything gets completed, the computer orders the machinery to work in collaboration with one another to manufacture car parts using the desired CAD.

Here are the steps of working of rapid prototyping for cars in detail:

Figure 5 Working Of Rapid Prototyping In Automotive Industry

• CAD Design

The CAD designs of cars are a little more technical than that of the other machinery. That’s why it requires an expert engineer to produce a good quality CAD car design for you.

CAD software prepares these essential designs. You can create it in such a way that it is easy for the CNC machines to see and analyze the design and manufacture the product for you.

• Design Test

After production of the CAD design, it is then the time to test that design. The design is provided to the manufacturing company where there are expert engineers for this task. They analyze your design and figure out the shortcomings in it.

This ultimately gives you a clear picture of what you have done and what improvements you need to make in the future.

• Design Execution

After the engineers successfully test and pass the design, it is then the time to execute it on the computer. The CAD is inserted into a computer that scans the design for some faults. If the computer spots any, you will have to fix it. If there’s none, the computer will start the manufacturing of your product.

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   What Do You Make a Car Prototype?

   Figure 6 Phases Of Car Prototyping

   Here are some main ways of producing the most commendable prototypes for your car prototyping projects.

   • Design validation

   It is the phase of manufacturing during which an amn8ufacture validates his design and confirms whether it is practical or not. During this phase of manufacturing, the prototype produced is sent to all the stakeholders for sharing their reviews. These reviews are the further bases on which you can manufacture the main product (car).

   The prototype manufactured using this stage is a rough prototype only for getting information about the validity of the design for a particular car.

   • Pre Development

   It is another phase of car prototyping, in which a manufacturer develops a prototype to get the idea of its use and performance. This phase helps the manufacturers and stakeholders to learn the functionalities of the car using its prototype.

   The prototype created using this phase consists of all the important functionalities that you will incorporate into the main product.

   In some cases, the engineers create a part of the car and fit it into an already running car to test its collaboration with other parts of the actual car. This helps them learn about the prototype parts’ ability to collaborate and function with real car components. All this happens during the pre-development stage.

   • Production Process

   Car prototyping is not only the production of the entire prototype for the car but also prototypes of the mechanical parts of the car.

   During the production process phase, the manufacturers get to know about the main flaws and shortcomings in the prototype of those parts. This step is also essential for figuring out the best technology you can use to create the actual car or its mechanical parts using the same CAD design. By default, most manufacturing firms in China use CNC machining, one of the most popular technologies for car production.

   Figure 7 Production Process Of Car Prototyping

   • Customer Testing

   This phase involves the testing of the prototype by customers and getting their feedback related to the prototype. This greatly helps the manufacturers to get a clear idea of the market needs and requirements. And thus, by following this advanced technique, a manufacturing company can produce such cars that are high in demand and can generate more revenue.

   In any stage of manufacturing or prototyping, the customer testing stage phase is applicable. But the best time for testing the prototype with customers is after the pre-development stage. During this time, the prototype contains its functionalities and is not limited to the outer shape only.

   • Safety testing

   In the manufacturing industry, safety is critical, and so is in-car prototyping. In this stage, the prototype is tested for its protection. With the prototype in this phase, a manufacturer can easily figure out whether the design that he has used for creating the prototype is safe for the actual car or not.

   Also, the prototypes are passed through harsh conditions to test the safety and durability of the desired car. During this stage, most of the problems that are arisen during the production are spotted and eradicated.

   • Manufacturing Validation

   During manufacturing validation, the prototype goes through the final touch, and the consisting of all the functionalities created in the new car’s design is assured. This prototype is the same as the actual car, but it has small in size.

   This phase helps you learn greatly about the type of car you will manufacture, its expected cost, and the time it would consume. At this stage, the manufacturer decides whether he should continue to manufacture the actual car or not. You can perform many operations to get the best results and to develop the prototype more and more. This will ultimately help you produce a more advanced car.

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      Which Materials Are Useful for Car Prototyping?

   You can use a number of materials for the production of car prototypes. Among them, plastic, metal, and clay are highly used by the manufacturers of China. The thing that makes these materials better for car prototyping is the cost. They are cheaper, thus, you can save lots of money for future car prototyping and manufacturing projects.

   Plastic is easily machinable that also proves to be very beneficial for car prototyping. In most cases, you can opt for metal to manufacture a variety of prototypes. However, in China, the use of metals for car prototyping is very low, and mostly it is done from plastic or clay.

   For prototyping, you will need a material that is easy to machine, easier to draw into the desired shape, and cheaper to use. In addition, you should also look for the type of machining technology that a particular material will require to be turned into a regular prototype.

   For example, if you use metal for prototyping, you will need a little more expensive machining technology for manufacturing. While on the other hand, if we talk about plastic so in that case, only 3D printing will also work for you.

   Considering all the important factors for selecting material for car prototyping, you can say that plastic is an ideal choice. It has its definite shape many more benefits.

   

Figure 8 Prototype Of A Car

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   What Car Parts Can You Prototype Easily?

There are a number of complex mechanical parts inside the cars that you can prototype before manufacturing them originally. When a manufacturer is going to incorporate some new parts in the car, he uses this technique for the safe and sound working of the car.

If you will directly create car parts using the CAD design but don’t pay any attention to the prototype, there is a possibility the parts won’t be as much effective you expect them to be. To achieve this, creating a prototype is very important.

Here are some of the popular car parts that you can produce easily using their prototypes.

• Performance Parts

This includes parts of the engine, brakes, and radiators, etc. All these products are prototyped before manufacturing them in real. This makes you able to effectively change things in the designs of these parts that you think are not fit enough.

• Lighting Parts

You may also prototype lenses, indicators, headlights, and backlights. This will help you recognize and find any flaw or change that you would like to bring in the CAD design of those parts. Doing this will help you get the best-designed parts at the end that go exactly with your requirements.

• Aesthetics

To achieve a great appearance, the aesthetic parts of the car are also prototyped by most of the suppliers of China.

• Other Parts

In many now, you will see the use of modern bumpers. These bumpers also go through the process of CAD designing and prototyping so that you can get the best out of them in the end.

Figure 9 Wheels Prototyped

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   What Are The Types Of Car Prototyping?

In the car production industry, there are two types of prototyping. Both of them are popular and are used by the suppliers of China.

• Proof Of Concept Prototype

This prototype is usually manufactured at the beginning stage of manufacturing. Usually, when trying to convert your idea into a real prototype, you create this type of prototype. They are the most simplified form of prototypes and don’t give many intricate details about the actual product.

For this type of prototyping, the manufacturer usually uses cheap machining technology. Similarly, the material in this car prototyping is also cheap and can be easily machined.

• Design Validation

This is another type of prototyping that is even more popular than the first one. CNC car prototyping manufacturers use it all over the world.

These prototypes are created by keeping in view the final product, and hence most of the requirements of that product are fulfilled in it. Here the materials used are also closer to that of the materials in actual car parts. Thus they provide a greater idea for the manufacturer to learn about his product.

Due to the more time and resource consumption, this prototyping is much more expensive than the first one. However, in quality and popularity, the design validation prototyping wins the race.

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   Why Is Prototyping Necessary Before Car Manufacturing?

Figure 10 Importance Of Prototyping

If you manufacture a car with a new design, you are more likely to make mistakes at the start. However, if you create a small prototype of the original car with a new design, you can fix all the shortcomings beforehand. This will ultimately help you carry out this entire process effectively.

Here are some of the top reasons why prototyping is necessary before cars production.

• Reduce The Errors

Prototyping is a great way to reduce errors in your work. A prototype will let you know about all the errors and flaws in your design that you can fix and develop your main product.

If you manufacture your main product without manufacturing a prototype of it, you can make faults in the car machinery that can cost you very high. So it is always better to produce a prototype of the car before you move towards manufacturing the main product.

• Communicable

Prototypes create an understanding between your professional colleagues, including your boss, stakeholders, or customers. You can discuss your product with anyone using your prototype. This easy communication makes it a valuable thing to carry in relevant meetings etc.

• Save Money

Prototyping may seem like spending more money on creating just toys, but that doesn’t actually happen. Prototyping can save you a lot of money from getting lost by helping you make the most revenue-generating cars with the least mechanical issues.

That’s why car prototyping is an essential thing for manufacturing cars or car parts.

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    How to Choose the Best Company for Car Prototyping?

Experience is an essential thing. Before hiring any manufacturing company, you should have a look at the level of its experience. If the company is more experienced as compared to others, never be shy to spend higher money for buying their service. It is because perfect quality services are sold at a high price.

Figure 11 Car Prototyping Manufacturer Selection

Here are some tips that you can follow for choosing a company for car prototyping.

• Ask For sample

After the experience, the most important things are samples. You have to ask for the previous work that the company did in the past.

• Pay More If The Quality Is Great

Some companies provide the best services, but they also charge very high. If the service is good, it is okay to pay more for that.

11. How To Reduce Cost On Car Prototyping?

Reducing the manufacturing cost of car prototyping requires you to take care of some important factors upon which the cost depends. They are the use of proper material, the use of suitable machining technology, and the choosing of the right manufacturing company.

Here are some tips that may help you to reduce your cost of car prototyping.

· Chose The Right Material

It is very important to choose the material that is the most suitable for your car prototype. It also depends upon your purpose of prototyping. If you’re producing the prototype to be presented in your meetings with your stakeholders, you can use cheap material such as plastic.

It means you should only use metal or other high-cost material when you’re launching your prototype in the market for public testing.

· Choose The Right Machining Technology

Only the right machining technology will give you the expected result. If you choose a machining technology that takes more time during production and more labor, then you’ll be definitely charged higher.

On the other hand, if you manufacture your prototype with a technology that works faster such as CNC machining, then you won’t be charged much higher. This is because CNC is automatic technology that works faster and the least labor is required during the process.

· Choose The Right Manufacturing Company

There are some manufacturing companies that charge their clients higher than others. So you should go for those companies that provide you the best quality work at the least charge.

It is still not always advisable to go for the company that charges you the least, as you won’t love to compromise the quality of your work. So to get the best quality work at a reasonable cost, try looking for that manufacturing company that delivers the perfect prototypes at the average market cost.

In these ways, you can reduce your prototyping cost, and spend your extra money on the other aspects of your manufacturing.

Figure 12 reduce the cost of prototyping

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    What Is the Difference Between Concept (idea) And Prototyping?

Figure 13 Idea Vs. Prototyping

The difference between both terminologies is very simple. A concept or idea is a new image that comes to your mind about a particular product or plain. On the other hand, a prototype can be called the practical shape is given to that idea or concept.

The idea comes from experiences, your thoughts, and imaginations, etc., while the prototype uses the CAD design to become a reality.

13. How Much Does A Prototype Vehicle Cost?

Car prototyping may cost you from 100$ to 3000$. Prototype vehicles cost can be variable. That depends totally upon the manufacturing company that you have chosen. Similarly, it also depends upon the type of material that you have chosen for creating the prototype. If you had used plastic, you won’t be charged that much high as if you have chosen steel.

The other important factor upon which your cost is dependent is the type of manufacturing technology that you have used for prototyping. If you make use of CNC machining, due to less time consumption and labor involvement, you will be charged quite lower than other machining technologies such as Rapid Prototyping or sheet metal fabrication.

You should also know the purpose of your prototyping. For example, you should not manufacture all the functionalities in your prototype if you’re just planning to introduce it in a common meeting.