Whilst prior works have characterised the affordances of prototyping methods in terms of generating knowledge about a product or process, the types, or ‘dimensions’ of knowledge towards which they contribute are not fully understood. In this paper we adapt the concept of ‘design domains’ as a method to interpret, and better understand the contributions of different prototyping methods to design knowledge in new product development. We first synthesise a set of ten dimensions for design knowledge from a review of literature in design-related fields. A study was then conducted in which participants from engineering backgrounds completed a Likert-type questionnaire to quantify the perceived contributions to design knowledge of 90 common prototyping methods against each dimension. We statistically analyse results to identify patterns in the knowledge contribution of different methods. Results reveal that methods exhibit significantly different contribution profiles, suggesting different methods to be suited to different knowledge. Thus, this paper indicates potential for new methods, methodology and processes to leverage such characterisations for better selection and sequencing of methods in the prototyping process.

Whilst remanufacture is identified as a key enabler for sustainable manufacture in future industry, its role within the context of new product development remains unclear. Where prototypes often go through multiple iterations with varying degrees of change, could remanufacture be adopted to reduce the time and cost components of design iteration? This paper presents a computational study to explore the potential savings afforded by remanufacture across stages of a rapid prototyping process. Results suggest significant reductions to development time and cost can be achieved.

Prototyping strategies and technology often focus on reducing the fabrication time and cost between design iterations, however, there is limited knowledge about the specific characteristics of change that prototyping strategies aim to impact. To investigate, and better understand these characteristics, this study curates and systematically analyses a representative dataset of 50 'real-world' prototype samples. The study aims to explore the various elements that constitute a design change and to determine their impact on the scale of volumetric change detected. The results highlight emergent patterns and correlations between study metrics to better understand the reasons for design change and the frequency and scale of changes detected in the sample dataset. Findings reveal that the purpose of a design change is, in certain cases, highly correlated to the scale of change affected, and that some changes are more prevalent in the dataset than others, with an average volumetric difference of 4.2% between sample versions detected. The study provides an initial characterisation of prototype change to guide iterative prototyping processes and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of design iterations.

Whilst prior works have characterised the affordances of prototyping methods in terms of generating knowledge about a product or process, the types, or ‘dimensions’ of knowledge towards which they contribute are not fully understood. In this paper we adapt the concept of ‘design domains’ as a method to interpret, and better understand the contributions of different prototyping methods to design knowledge in new product development. We first synthesise a set of ten dimensions for design knowledge from a review of literature in design-related fields. A study was then conducted in which participants from engineering backgrounds completed a Likert-type questionnaire to quantify the perceived contributions to design knowledge of 90 common prototyping methods against each dimension. We statistically analyse results to identify patterns in the knowledge contributions of different methods. Results reveal that methods exhibit significantly different contribution profiles, suggesting different methods to be suited to different knowledge generation. Thus, this paper indicates potential for new methods, methodology and processes to leverage such characterisations for better selection and sequencing of methods in the prototyping process.