What Is Model Making in Industrial Design?

Model making is an essential part of industrial design. It is used to create prototypes of products before they go into production and is often done with the help of 3D printing technology. Model making helps industrial designers to visualize their ideas, test them out, and refine them until they reach the desired design outcome.

Model making can be done with a wide variety of materials including wood, metal, plastic, foam, and fabric. Each material has its own unique properties that can be explored to create different types of models. Wood is a popular choice for model making because it is relatively inexpensive and easy to work with. It can be cut, sanded, stained, painted or finished in any way imaginable.

Metal is another popular material for model making as it is strong and durable and can be machined into complex shapes or components. Plastic and foam are great materials for creating lightweight models that are easy to transport and manipulate. Fabric can also be used for model making – it’s versatile and allows for different textures to be incorporated into the design.

When creating a model there are several considerations that must be taken into account such as size and scale, tolerances between parts, strength requirements, surface finish requirements, aesthetics, cost of materials etc. All these factors will ultimately determine what type of model should be created in order to meet the desired design outcome.

The process of model making involves several steps such as gathering information about the project (including sketches/drawings), selecting appropriate materials, planning out the build process (including measurements), cutting/machining/assembling components (if necessary), sanding/finishing components (if necessary), assembling the final product (using glues/fasteners etc.), testing out the prototype and refining it until it meets all requirements specified in the design brief.

Conclusion:

Model making plays an important role in industrial design by providing designers with a physical representation of their ideas which allows them to test out different concepts quickly before investing time into full production runs. With its wide variety of available materials and customizable processes involved in its creation – from gathering information about the project all the way through to testing out prototypes – model making offers an invaluable tool for designers when developing new products.