Fig. 1 shows three prototypes of the same product made at different stages of a project. Explain how the purpose of a prototype changes as a design develops...

Assessment: Design & Technology: Product Design 9252 | Paper 1 Mock 01 | Technical, designing and making principles Subject: Design & Technology: Product Design - 9252

Question 1 Report

9252-p1-proto-three-stages-1

Fig. 1 shows three prototypes of the same product made at different stages of a project. Explain how the purpose of a prototype changes as a design develops. [6]

Answer Details

The purpose of a prototype changes as the project moves from exploring ideas to proving the final product and its manufacturing process.

  1. Early stage: a rough card or foam model tests size, proportion and layout. It is deliberately quick and cheap so that several alternatives can be made and changed. [2]
  2. Middle stage: a working model tests function, such as a mechanism or circuit. It may not resemble the final product visually, because proving operation is more important at this point. [2]
  3. Late stage: a realistic prototype represents the proposed product for user testing, client approval and certification. Its appearance, material and finish should be close to those of production. [1]
  4. Pre-production stage: a sample made using production tooling proves the process itself, including manufacture and assembly at production tolerances. [1]

The key judgement is that prototype fidelity should increase only when the questions being tested require it; early design decisions do not justify the cost of production tooling.

Read lesson note on Prototype Development (OxfordAQA)
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