The big idea: The guide lists eight virtual prototyping tools. Memorised as a list they are unusable.
Sorted by the question each answers — shape it, test it, use it — you can pick the right one for a stated purpose.
Eight tools in three groups. Step through each group to see what it is actually for.
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Surface models
Solid models
Generative design
Finite element analysis (FEA)
Motion capture
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Digital humans
- Percentile-accurate figures placed in the model
- Check reach, clearance and sight lines
- The ergonomics of A1.1, before a rig exists
VR and AR
- VR: the user stands inside the design at full size
- AR: the design is overlaid on the real place it will go
- Catches scale and context errors a screen hides
Haptic technology
- Adds force feedback to a virtual control
- A dial can be felt to click, resist or stop
- The nearest a virtual model gets to touch
The honest limit: A virtual prototype answers only what it was modelled to answer. It will tell you a handle is 180 grams and cannot tell you whether that is tiring after ten minutes.
Simulate to narrow the options; build to confirm.
How this is tested — choosing a virtual prototyping tool for a stated purpose. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Match a described activity to one of the eight tools.
- Pick the tool that answers a stated question.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Explain how and why a designer uses virtual prototypes on a named product.
- Explain the limits of a virtual prototype for a stated question.
The trap: Naming CAD and stopping. CAD is the software; the mark is in the specific tool — FEA, a digital human, generative design — and in what it answers.
A manufacturer is developing a new tractor cab. Explain how it would use virtual prototypes during development.
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