David Thompson

I always find prototyping exciting—testing out a new product and seeing how it all fits together is a great experience.

But it can be slow. You need to produce the prototype after all, and this takes time and resources. Electrical engineers tend to be short on both.

This is why 3D printing has been a real game-changer for engineers. With this technology, prototypes are developed rapidly—even within minutes. Engineering teams can immediately get to grips with the physical properties and dimensions of the product.

As 3D printing tech advances, engineers can even produce functional models of their products. Gathering data and insight has become far easier.

But prototyping is not the end of development. Often, we have to go back to the drawing board and make changes. With a 3D-printed model, this isn't so scary—the prototype can be produced quickly, ready for the next phase of testing.

Have you used this in your own work?