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A prototype helps you work out the nuts and bolts of your product. Proof is in the prototype.
Putting together a model of your invention will help prove your design works and give you an idea of what it's going to take to get your product to market.
Leonardo Da Vinci, in his brilliance designed, among other things, an underwater suit. Amazingly, the 15th century designs actually went some way to solving how humans could spend time underwater. But Leonardo never tested his suit out. Had he built a prototype, he'd have realised some serious modifications were needed if the wearer was going to be able to breathe.
There are two good reasons why you'll need a prototype of your invention.
Firstly, a working model not only helps you iron out the bugs and flaws, it's also your proof to potential investors and buyers that your gizmo works.
"Building a prototype proves your concept will work as suggested," says Andrew Wythes from the National Invention Centre. "It could be big and ugly, as long as it works."
Building a prototype is also one of the first steps towards commercialising – it can help you refine your product and work out how easy it will be to manufacture.
Wythes says there are three things you should check your prototype for:
· How cheap it'll be to produce
· How easy it'll be to assemble
How easy it'll be to package and transport the product.
Before you start
There are a couple of things you need to think about before you leap in the deep end and build your prototype
Protect your idea
Firstly, you need to make sure your idea is protected. If you don't already have a patent you may want to look into getting one. A design registration will also protect the IP of your invention and you can also enter into a confidentiality agreement with anyone you're going to work with, like an industrial designer or manufacturer, so that they recognise the idea belongs to you.
For more information read our Business Basic: Staking a claim on your idea and go to our Ask An Expert section for more advice on patents and confidentiality agreements.
While it pays to protect your idea, keep in mind that becoming paranoid is not going to help get your product to market.
"We see lots of mad inventors come through the door with great ideas," says Clive Solari from the Australian Design Institute. "But so many aren't going to go anywhere because the inventors are convinced the idea will get stolen. You have to allow a bit of risk."
Make sure it's a goer
The second thing to look at is whether the invention has a market.
"Some inventors rush into the expense of a prototype too early," says Darrell Nicholls, executive officer of the Industry Development Centre in Newcastle, NSW. "They should try and identify whether there's a commercial need for what they're tyring to invent. In the early stages, you need to find out if anyone apart from family and friends are going to pay for it."
For more information about researching the viability of your idea read our Business Basics on market research and putting together a business plan. And check out our Ask An Expert answer for a checklist of things to research.
Building your prototype
If you're an inventor whose been tinkering around with designs in your back shed, chances are you've already come up with a working prototype. But if you've got nothing more than designs on paper, or if you're technically challenged, you're going to need professional help to put a prototype together.
When looking for professional help, more often than not your first port of call will be an industrial designer. The job of an industrial designer is to take designs and make them more useable and aesthetically pleasing. They can also put together technical drawings or a computer aided design, also called a CAD plan, that can be used by manufacturers to make the product.
"Industrial designers don't come cheap," says Wythes. 'But what they will do is make sure your design complies with the relative standards and make sure it functions how you intended."
Industrial designers charge anywhere between $60 to $125 an hour. Finding a designer is either a matter of using the Yellow Pages or heading to the Design Institute of Australia website and using its referral service to find a designer that has the specialist skills you need and is in your area.
Solari advises that you shop around for a designer and always make sure any quotes given are broken down and approved as phases so the cost doesn't come in one hit.
"The design process is one of those journeys that's so much fun, so if you hire a designer you don't connect with you're going to miss out," he says. "You need to pick someone you get on well with and that you know can get the job done."
Depending on what industry you're in, some manufacturers will actually help you develop the prototype and there are organisations who can help link you up with manufacturers.
Organisations like the Industry Development Centre, the National Invention Centre, Innovic and the Triton Foundation can provide advice on industrial designers, help with market research and also help cut a licensing deal with manufacturers, the latter usually charged on a fee for success basis.
source: http://www.abc.net.au/catapult
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