Engineering Prototype and Development Support
Experienced engineering support for prototypes that must prove performance – not merely demonstrate that the concept can operate.
Speak with PTL’s engineering prototype team led by Mike Cranfield, Engineering Design Director.
You may be preparing to build a first prototype, resolving problems with an existing development unit or coordinating several specialist suppliers.
PTL is here to help you define what the prototype must prove, prepare the engineering information, support the build and turn the results into the next design decision.
You will work directly with engineers experienced in mechanical design, system simulation, controls, testing and multidisciplinary development.
Build the prototype the programme actually needs
A prototype should be designed around an unresolved engineering question. That question may relate to performance, thermal behaviour, fluid flow, durability, system integration, control stability or manufacturing feasibility.
Not every programme needs a complete production-representative product. A contained proof-of-principle rig may provide the required evidence faster and at lower cost. In other cases, the interaction between subsystems can only be assessed using a more representative integrated prototype.
PTL helps define the correct prototype architecture before unnecessary cost and resource is committed.
Call us today on 01273 466 666 or send us an email.
Define what must be proven
Before manufacture begins, PTL can help establish the technical purpose of the prototype. This includes the functions that must be represented, the operating conditions that must be reproduced, the variables that must be measured and the acceptance criteria that will determine the outcome.
The process can also identify which features may be simplified and which components must be production-intent. This ensures that the prototype creates evidence capable of influencing the next decision rather than becoming an expensive demonstration with no clear technical conclusion.
Engineering before procurement
Prototype manufacture should not begin while critical interfaces, loads or operating conditions remain undefined.
PTL can complete or refine the mechanical design, calculations, CAD, component specifications, instrumentation provisions and test connections required for the build.
PTC Creo, Siemens NX, SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor can be used to develop the prototype hardware and establish controlled information for suppliers.
Where necessary, GT-SUITE, GT-Power, Ansys, FEMFAT, Matlab Simulink or advanced CFD can be used before manufacture to assess expected behaviour and identify weak technical assumptions.
This helps ensure the physical build is used to resolve genuine uncertainty rather than discover problems that could reasonably have been identified beforehand.
Designing for development and measurement
A prototype has different requirements from a finished production product hardware.
Components may need to be changed quickly. Internal conditions may need to be measured. Control parameters may require frequent adjustment. The system may need to operate safely while faults and operating limits are investigated.
PTL can incorporate sensor positions, access points, test connections, removable components, safety provisions and adjustable interfaces into the prototype design. This creates a development platform rather than a closed demonstrator that is difficult to investigate.
Supplier and procurement coordination
Prototype programmes often depend on several specialist suppliers being managed by a program engineer. One supplier may machine a precision component. Another may produce control hardware. Others may provide fabrication, instrumentation, hydraulics or specialist bought-in equipment.
PTL can prepare supplier work packages, answer manufacturing queries, review proposed changes and protect the engineering intent as individual components move into production. We can work with customer-selected suppliers or support the identification of a suitable prototype route.
PTL is an engineering design and development consultancy rather than a volume manufacturer. Our role is to maintain technical continuity through procurement, build and integration.
Controlled commissioning
PTL supports a progressive commissioning process covering mechanical interfaces, sensors, control hardware, fluid systems, electrical integration and initial operation.
The operating envelope is expanded in a controlled manner while data is collected and unexpected behaviour is investigated. This establishes a reliable baseline before the system is exposed to full load, speed, temperature or pressure. It also helps prevent an early issue in one subsystem from causing damage elsewhere in the prototype.
Correlating simulation and physical behaviour
PTL’s combined toolchain provides a strong basis for model-to-test correlation. Measured data can be compared with GT-SUITE or GT-Power system models, Ansys or FEMFAT assessments, CFD results and Simulink dynamic models. Differences are examined rather than simply adjusted away.
The underlying cause may be an incorrect boundary condition, an unmodelled loss, manufacturing variation, sensor behaviour, control interaction or a limitation in the physical concept.
Understanding that cause improves both the prototype development and the future predictive model.
Troubleshooting and technical development
A first prototype rarely achieves every target. PTL can investigate underperformance, overheating, leakage, vibration, structural failure, control instability or inconsistent measurements across the complete system.
Our multidisciplinary capability allows the investigation to move between mechanical, fluid, thermal, electrical and control domains. That is important because the visible symptom and the underlying cause are not always in the same discipline.
The objective is not simply to make the prototype operate again. It is to understand what the result means for the design
What you receive
The scope may include prototype objectives, completed design information, supplier work packages, component specifications, commissioning procedures and test methods.
Following the build, PTL can provide commissioning records, test-data interpretation, model correlation, fault investigation and recommended design revisions.
The result is a clear statement of what the prototype has proven, what remains uncertain and what must happen before the programme progresses.
Relevant experience
PTL supports prototype programmes involving engine systems, fuel equipment, industrial heat pumps, pumps, electric motors, electro-hydraulic mechanisms, energy machinery, mobility systems, controls and specialist test equipment.
Previous programmes have combined mechanical design, software development, specialist procurement, physical testing and simulation correlation. This includes multiphase pumping, eBike drive concepts, experimental fuel systems, integrated motor-driven systems and machinery required to operate under unusual pressure, temperature or environmental conditions.
Mike Cranfield
Engineering Design Director
Mike supports programmes requiring practical engine and powertrain design input, with experience across gasoline, light-duty and heavy-duty engine design, advanced powertrain system design and packaging.
Call us today on 01273 466 666 or send us an email.
Speak with PTL’s prototype development team, led by Mike Cranfield, Engineering Design Director
Mike leads PTL’s design input as programmes move into physical build, drawing on practical engine and powertrain development experience from Paragon Porsche and Ricardo.
Share the current design position, the intended purpose of the prototype and the evidence you need it to produce. We will help you establish whether the programme is ready to build and define the strongest route into physical development.
