Rapid Prototyping Approach

OSE rapid prototyping refers to 1-day builds and rapid 1-2 day prototyping runs that follow weeks of preparation. This is a technique that we follow at OSE pending complete preparation of CAD, fabrication procedures, and cut lists. We have demonstrated proof of concept on the 1 day build with the 1 Day Build of the CEB Press

We have learned over the years that we can either spend the time building or designing for a rapid build. Because we are dealing with heavy machinery, it is easier to prepare everything on paper prior to a build, up to language agnostic instructionals. This level of preparation allows builds to happen once, and only once -

Then of course after a build - we can iterate rapidly because our working materials are modular.

The key to the above is module-based design. While it is much more difficult to build an entire device, it is much more tractable to build a module (or component of that machine). Only in the absence of skill or under time pressure do we not go through the full design process on paper, when we attain a lower level of quality, while still achieving a proof-of-concept.

Because we are working on many proofs-of-concept that have never before been attempted, it is more important to have something done rather than having something done perfectly. That is - done is better than perfect. This approach is taken because the thing at hand may not work - so it is important to determine early on whether something works or not - in order to take midcourse correction. This way, innovation happens in the span of days, not months.

Wikispeed has attained a 100 mpg car proof-of-concept in 3 months, as opposed to the years of typical development cycles. See Wikispeed.

OSE has attained a 12 hour build of the Ironworker Machine Prototype 3, compared to the 6 month build of Prototype 2 - by radically shifting the design approach.