How does one prototype a physical product?
bprater: Great question.There is very little magic to the prototyping phase. Google 'rapid prototype' (maybe add 'plastic' to it) and find a shop that has a price that is in your budget. (The price usually has to do with size of the blank they will work on for you.)Spend a bit of time looking at the different methods of creating a prototype from plastic. Some use a type of "printer", others carve it from a chunk of plastic. Find out the pros-and-cons of the different methods. (Cost vs accuracy vs material.)Find out what software format they import from and build your prototype in software that can export in that format. Email them the data, your credit card number, and in a few days, you should have your prototype!Enjoy this phase -- the tricky/expensive part is going from the prototype phase to production.