Efficient use of Traditional-, Rapid- and Virtual Prototyping in the industrial product development process

In several cases (Fig. 1) a multidisciplinary team of engineers worked on several design projects. Different types of prototyping were used to validate designs, improve communication and shorten time-to-market (Gerson, 2007). In the context of occupational therapy, designers made several “Design for [every]ONE” proof-of-concepts for the use of RP when building assistive tools. As part of a student business game, products for mass customization were developed and produced in small series (Bastiaens, 2008).