Digital Prototyping gives conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing departments the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it's built.
Studies show that by using Digital Prototyping to catch design problems up front, manufacturers experience fewer change orders downstream.
[4] Because the geometry in digital prototypes is highly accurate, companies can check interferences to avoid assembly issues that generate change orders in the testing and manufacturing phases of development.
[5] Companies can also perform simulations in early stages of the product development cycle, so they avoid failure modes during testing or manufacturing phases.
PLM solutions are highly customized and complex to implement, often requiring a complete replacement of existing technology.
Like PLM, Digital Prototyping seeks to link otherwise unconnected, siloed activities, such as concept development, design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, and marketing.
[9] Digital Prototyping aims to resolve many of the same issues as PLM without involving a highly customized, all-encompassing software deployment.
With Digital Prototyping, a company may choose to address one need at a time, making the approach more pervasive as its business grows.
[10] By implementing a digital prototype of a partially or fully automated vehicle and its sensor suite into a dynamic co-simulation of traffic flow and vehicle dynamics, a novel toolchain methodology comprising virtual testing is available for the development of automated driving functions by the automotive industry.
This input helps engineers and manufacturing experts work together on the digital prototype throughout the design process to ensure that the product can be produced cost effectively.
Using 3D CAD data from the digital prototype, companies can create realistic visualizations, renderings, and animations to market products in print, on the web, in catalogues, or in television commercials.
Without needing to produce expensive physical prototypes and conduct photo shoots, companies can create virtual photography and cinematography nearly indistinguishable from reality.
Companies can respond to requests for proposals and bid on projects without building physical prototypes, using visualizations to show the potential customer what the end product will be like.
Reviewers can interact with digital prototypes in realistic environments, allowing for the validation of design decisions early in the product development process.
[14] Furthermore, the rich product data supplied by Digital Prototyping can help companies demonstrate conformance with the growing number of product-related environmental regulations and voluntary sustainability standards.