In the Rapid Prototyping and Tooling specialization, students learn how to make effective prototypes. Why is rapid prototyping important, and how does it facilitate the overall engineering design process? At what point in the process should rapid prototyping be employed? How can electronics bring a prototype to the next level? When is it appropriate to make a prototype out of cardboard rather than aluminum? When should you use 3D printing instead of a laser cutter? Real examples provide answers to questions like these and highlight best practices on when to use different materials and manufacturing equipment.

You can see an overview of the specialization from Dr. Frank here.

Praktisches Lernprojekt

In this specialization, you will complete quizzes that will help you to assess your understanding of rapid prototyping and tooling. In addition, you will complete an end-of-specialization peer-reviewed project where you will use everything you have learned in these three courses to produce a rapid prototype to solve a real-world problem. You will use the engineering design process to identify the need and define the problem. Afterwards you will brainstorm different solutions, create a simple mock-up, and test it before making a more sophisticated rapid prototype.