4 Tips for a Smooth Start to Manufacturing Your Product
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4 Tips for a Smooth Start to Manufacturing Your Product
Market Segment Experience
Start your search for a manufacturer that has experience in the industry your product is entering. For instance, if you are manufacturing a baby spoon find a manufacturer that has a great deal of experience in the baby product consumer market segment. Having a manufacturing partner that is knowledgeable about the industry you are entering means that they will be up-to-date with best practices, safety standards, and will have the able to offer helpful insight.
Unit Scalability
Not all manufacturers will be able to scale with your business. As your startup grows, the number of units you need will increase as well. Your initial manufacturing partner might be great at prototypes and low volumes, but higher volumes may pose a problem. Minimize production delays, by meeting with other potential manufacturing partners that are able to adequately meet higher volume needs. You don’t have to stick with just one manufacturer.
Multiple Open Partnerships
Depending on your product, one manufacturing strategy is to have multiple open partnerships with manufacturers. Your once very attentive and grateful manufacturer might put you on the back burner when a bigger customer comes along. A vendor list with manufacturers you can utilize or bounce between is a good idea. This keeps pricing between them competitive and the diversification minimizes your business risk.
Make a Visit & Check References
Your manufacturer is critical to your business, so open communication is mandatory. It is imperative that you know them, and trust them, before working with them. This is true whether you are manufacturing close to home or in another country. Phone calls and emails are great, but a visit to their location is highly recommended. Visiting the facility lets you meet the factory workers and see the facility. You want to feel comfortable that your product is in the right hands, and an on-site visit will do just this.
Don’t forget to check their references. Make those phone calls and get your questions answered by people who have experience with this potential manufacturer.
Now here is what your future manufacturer wants you to know.
Have additional questions about manufacturing your product? We can help. Send us an email with your questions to info@3d-innovations.com
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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Developments in the Metal 3D Printing Segment
Metal 3D Printing industry expected to be worth as much as $10 billion by 2030 to 2035.
Today, 3D printing is a very small part of the metals industry, but it is growing rapidly and this market is expected to be worth as much as $10 billion by 2030 to 2035. Already, a number of healthcare and aerospace companies have adopted the technology. Some are running pilots to see how 3D metal printing can contribute to their operations while others are using 3D printers to produce metal prototypes in-house. (McKinsey & Company)
High volume parts product arrives.
Tech giant HP Inc on Monday, October 10th, launched the worlds most advanced 3D printing technology for the mass manufacturing of production-grade metal parts.
Called HP Metal Jet, the technology is up to 50 times more productive — delivering low-cost, high-quality mechanically functional parts for the auto, industrial and medical industries to begin with. (Machinery)
Researchers appear to have found a simpler method for 3D printing metal.
Jan Schroers, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Yale University and Desktop Metal, Inc., in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA and colleagues think they’re onto a simpler way of additively manufacturing metal using bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). These can be continuously softened when heated and have a “super-cooled liquid region in their thermodynamic profile”.
“We have shown theoretically in this work that we can use a range of other bulk metallic glasses and are working on making the process more practical- and commercially-usable to make 3D printing of metals as easy and practical as the 3D printing of thermoplastics,” said Schroers. (All 3DP)
Flood of new entrants to the market segment.
Many new metal technologies have already been announced this year, and there are even more on the way. If you’re thinking about investing in a very high cost metal 3D printer today, it might be wise to wait a couple years. The market is moving so fast that any equipment purchased today might be obsolete in only a few years. (Fabbaloo)
The metal 3D printing industry is on the rise. Manufacturers, businesses and researchers are working hard to push the technology forward. While it won’t eliminate the needed for traditional manufacturing methods, it will be one very powerful tool in your toolkit when it comes to manufacturing.
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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A Human-Centered Design Approach
When it comes to designing consumer products, the best approach is to consider your end-user throughout the entire design process—which is commonly referred to as “Human-Centered Design”. This means that you are focusing on the problem that your audience is facing and designing a streamlined solution. While additional features might be great marketing tools, most often than not less is more, the more streamlined your product and the more it addresses their current need, the better.
Famed design firm, IDEO, first coined the term, “Human-Centered Design” and have been using this approach to design many recognizable products, such as: the first computer mouse for Apple in 1980 and the Palm Pilot in 1998. IDEO’s main tenet is empathy for the end-user of their products. They believe that the key to figuring out what humans really want lies in doing two things:
IDEO defines human-centered design as a creative approach to problem solving that starts with people and ends with innovative solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs. In their Field Guide to Human-Centered Design IDEO states, “When you understand the people you’re trying to reach—and then design from their perspective—not only will you arrive at unexpected answers, but you’ll come up with ideas that they’ll embrace.” Below is the central philosophy of human-centered design.
Image from: User Testing Blog
The Six Phases of a Human-Centered Design Approach
Phase 1: Observation
The first phase is about observing the target audience or end-user going about the activity you are aiming to design a solution for. You are identifying patterns of behavior, pain points, and places where users have a difficult time accomplishing a task—this is where your opportunity lies.
Phase 2: Ideation
This is the brainstorming phase. Come up with solutions to the problem you have identified. Think of solutions that directly address the needs and desires of the people you are designing for. Maybe you already have a solution in mind, but are there any other options out there as well?
Phase 3: Rapid Prototyping
This phase is to make sure that the solution you have in mind is right on target. Your prototype at this phase doesn’t need to be a finished product. You need a prototype that makes your idea tangible and allows you to gain valuable target audience feedback.
Phase 4: User Feedback
This is the most critical phase of the human-centered design process. You want to get your prototype into the hands of your target audience. Without input from your end-user, you aren’t going to really know if your product solution is on target or not.
Phase 5: Iteration
The insight collected during the user-feedback stage is now implemented and it either impacts your design, where you need to make changes, or it validates your original design.
Keep iterating, testing, and integrating user feedback until you’ve fine-tuned your solution. This may take a few rounds, but don’t get discouraged. With each iteration you’ll learn something new.
Phase 6: Implementation
At this point you have thoughtfully and carefully design a product that solves a real need for your target audience, now it is time to launch it into the marketplace.
When it comes to developing and designing your product, don’t forget the “human” aspect. To build a truly innovative product you don’t need to start with fancy technology, you can start by simply understanding people.
Have product design questions? We are happy to help! Please send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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Hardware Entrepreneurs: A Big Picture Mentality
Developing a Preliminary Design Plan
Planning ahead is always a good idea when it comes to building a hardware product and launching a startup. A preliminary design plan is a good first step to help you get a firm grasp on the “big picture”. With a preliminary design you clarify budgets and timelines—which leads to better decision making as you head towards commercialization.
“A preliminary design (pre-design) focuses solely on the decisions that impact the big picture for your product. This includes your product’s cost, profit margin, performance, features, development feasibility and manufacturability. A pre-design ignores any details that don’t impact the big picture for your product. You can worry about those later. After you complete the pre-design you need to accurately estimate all of the costs required to launch your product. This includes the cost to develop, prototype, certify, scale, and most importantly the cost to manufacture your product. Knowing these costs ahead of time will allow you to plan the best strategy forward” (Predictable Designs).
The Benefits of Planning Ahead for Your Hardware Startup
By starting with a preliminary design, you will be able to focus on the big picture and the overarching goals you have established for your startup, as well as:
Take the time now to plan ahead—your startup will thank you in the end.
Have questions about your preliminary design plan? We are happy to help. Please send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn today
Exploring 3D Printing Technology for Business
While, 3D printing is taking off for businesses and industries around the world, it isn’t exactly movie magic. Just like with any other tool or instrument, you need to have background knowledge and an understanding of CAD and 3D printing technology to successfully develop and print a 3D object. If your startup is interested in exploring the technology further, we have gathered a few of our popular 3D printing blog posts and listed them below.
3D Printing: Competitive Advantage of the Technology
Prototyping to Production—What’s 3D Printing Used For?
The Transformation of 3D Printing Technology
Improving Medical Devices Through 3D Printing
Three Areas Where 3D Printing Shines
Have additional questions about 3D printing? Send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com. Interested in receiving a 3D printing quote? Head on over to our Quote Request page.
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
Subscribe to the 3D Innovations newsletter on our Facebook page!
Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn today
3D Academy STEM Enrichment Camps
3D Academy, a Division of 3D Innovations specializes in developing and integrating industry technologies with STEM programs and education. 3D Academy promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education programs that integrate 3D Technology into K–12, as well as university classrooms. Using hands-on and project-based learning strategies, we have been effective in providing students with opportunities to excel in the areas of STEM and to integrate industry applications into their learning experiences.
STEM Enrichment Camps
Throughout the year our 3D Academy hosts frequent STEM Enrichment Camps for students. Our final camp of the summer is coming up in less than a week, 3D Printing & CAD Design with Legos®. In this enrichment camp, co-hosted with Bricks4Kidz, students will learn the fundamentals of 3D Design, 3D Printing, CAD Design and Spatial Environments to create their own custom Lego design and part while learning about the various principles that integrate with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Students are introduced to the world of 3D Printing, CAD Design, Engineering, and prototyping all while being in an immersive STEM learning environment.
3D Academy STEM enrichment camps are a great introduction to STEM education. No prior engineering classes or skills are required to attend a camp. We start with the fundamentals and help students build upon those.
Our STEM Enrichment Camps align with the Hawaii Public School calendar and occur during school breaks (i.e. Winter, Spring and Summer break).
If you have a student that would be interested in attending one of our STEM Enrichment camps, we share all camp details and registration information over on our 3D Academy website as well as on the 3D Innovations Facebook page. If you have questions about our STEM camps, please send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com
STEM education teaches valuable life skills: problem solving, innovative thinking, teamwork, and organization skills to name a few. Read more about “The Long-Term Benefits of a STEM Education”.
Meet Lulu of 3D Academy
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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Marketing Your Hardware Product
Below are three reasons why you should be thinking about marketing throughout the early stages of product development.
Receive Customer Feedback
Feedback is critical during product development. You aren’t going to know if you are on the right track without feedback from your target market; thus, you are going to want people in your target market to test your product (not just family and friends). It is helpful to get feedback that is both honest and actionable.
By creating an inexpensive prototype and gathering feedback from it, you will be in a much better position as you build your product. This feedback loop is important until the final design is ready.
Build a Community
Around every successful product is a community rallying around it. In today’s global competitive marketplace, having a strong network and community interested in your product cannot be overlooked or overstated. A community will share your product launch information, help you create a buzz and end up being your first customers.
Crowdfunding has grown to be extremely popular because of the sense of community it gives hardware startup founders. Using a crowdfunding campaign for your startup lets you build this community before you even have a product ready to be shipped. While crowdfunding does have its drawbacks, its ability to build a community and rally support is a primary benefit for your hardware product.
Create a Buzz
Have you ever found yourself on a website that said something along the lines of, “Launching soon! Join our mailing list to be the first to know about our launch”? We all have the desire to be the “first to know” and inevitably add our email to the mailing list. This is an example of a startup building their community and creating a buzz. Creating a buzz gives customers a sneak peek about what’s to come and builds that sense of anticipation.
When you use customer feedback early-on, you start to create a buzz with your product testers. From there you want to build on this interest and loyalty. Social media is a great way to start creating a buzz for your product.
Thinking about your marketing strategy early-on, and developing a marketing plan, will help ensure that you have a supportive community by the time you launch your product.
Have additional questions about product development or marketing? We are happy to help. Please send an email to info@3d-innovations.com
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
Subscribe to the 3D Innovations newsletter on our Facebook page!
Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn today
What to Expect from Your First Product Development Meeting
While each product development firm has their own template for initial meetings. You can expect a variance on the below.
Get to Know You
Just as you are eager to get to know the product designer, they are eager to know more about you. This goes beyond your product—they want to know the backstory of how your product idea came-to-be. They want to know what you are passionate about. They want to know your skillset, where do you excel (sales, marketing, accounting)? This information will allow them to get a better idea on where their services will be utilized the most efficiently.
Discuss Your Product Idea
In your first meeting you are going to want to get as detailed as possible when discussing your product idea. You may think that the littlest details may not make a difference as you start developing an idea, however, every detail matters. Provide as much detail about your product requirements as possible. A good development company will be able to ask you the right questions throughout the development process to help you narrow down the requirements and focus on the functionality. You don’t need to know all of the technical details about the product, just how it needs to function.
Talk About the Product Development Timeline
While TV and the internet can make you believe that products are designed, manufactured and launched overnight, this isn’t how it works. Developing a product takes time. While the exact amount of time to develop your product depends on the idea and the intricacies of it—in general expect to be spending weeks to months on product development.
Discuss Your Intellectual Property Strategy
Just like you, product development firms want to make sure your product is protected from copycats, so they will want to discuss IP and what your initial feelings on it are.
Most hardware startups find themselves thinking about intellectual property early-on and wondering if it is truly necessary for their invention. If you are planning to manufacture your product abroad, considering a crowdfunding campaign, wanting to speak with potential investors or find yourself constantly worrying about someone copying your invention, then meeting with a patent attorney is a great idea. In many cases, having a design or utility patent will be beneficial for your startup in the long-run.
Have questions about developing a product idea? Send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com
Additional Information about Product Development
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
Subscribe to the 3D Innovations newsletter on our Facebook page!
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Visit Us at the Honolulu Mini Maker Faire — June 23rd
The 5th annual Honolulu Mini Maker Faire is this Saturday, June 23rd from 12pm to 5pm at ‘Iolani School. Our President, Collin Kobayashi, will be at our 3D Innovations booth answering your 3D printing, prototyping and product commercialization questions. This is a great chance to talk with Collin about the product development process and learn more about what it takes to bring a product to life.
The Honolulu Maker Faire is open to all ages and encompasses a wide range of interests and technologies. This is a family-friendly event where people can share their interests and knowledge and spark the Maker spirit in others. Tickets to the event are free, however we do suggest that you register for a ticket ahead of time to speed up the entry process.
Maker: Collin Kobayashi
WHAT I DO: I help companies in all industries bring new products to market, reduce prototyping costs, ensure requirements and quality are achieved, and develop manufacturing and go-to-market strategies.
WHY IT WORKS: I’ve spent almost 20 years in Design/Manufacturing sectors and understand the challenges and needs of companies doing R&D. Using our expertise in prototyping and manufacturing along with industry standard software and equipment, we will accelerate your development process and bring products to market faster.
HOW IT WORKS: The first step in the process is to schedule a consultation to discuss your project goals, objectives and challenges. Through this initial session, we will be able to outline a high level strategy and plan for bringing your product to market. I’ll also make a professional recommendation for the next steps that should be taken to ensure you can take your product to market!
What is a Maker Faire?
Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, projects.
We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth – a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Glimpse the future and get inspired!
To learn more about the Honolulu Mini Maker Faire, head on over to the official website.
See you there!
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
Subscribe to the 3D Innovations newsletter on our Facebook page!
Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn today
Building a Hardware Startup Isn’t a ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Process
Below are three challenges that first-time hardware entrepreneurs don’t always foresee.
Importance of Customer Feedback
Feedback is critical during product development. You aren’t going to know if you are on the right track without feedback from your target market. You are going to want people in your target market to test your product (not just family and friends). It is helpful to get feedback that is both honest and actionable.
By creating an inexpensive prototype, and gathering feedback from it, you will be in a much better position as you build your product. This feedback loop is important until the final design is ready.
Long Lead Times
Developing a hardware product takes time. Product development doesn’t happen overnight, especially if you are gathering customer feedback along the way and making the necessary adjustments. Depending on your product, product development could take months or even years before you are confident that it is ready to head into manufacturing.
Manufacturing is another area that has a long lead time. Whether you decide to manufacture locally or internationally, you are going to be playing the waiting game. The thing with long lead times is that if you know they are coming, expect them, and plan accordingly, they are less likely to derail your journey to success.
Understanding the Product Space
To understand your market, you need to research it. What products succeed in this space? Is there a similar product to yours that has found success in this product space? What did their journey look like? Has a similar product failed? What information can you glean from other startups’ success and failure in this space?
If possible, get out and talk to people already in this product space to see what they say about it. By understanding the market, you will get a better understanding of where your product will fit into it.
Each product and each startup will face their own challenges on the way to market; by preparing yourself for these twists and turns along the way, you will be in a much better position to successfully navigate them.
Have additional questions about bringing a product to market? Send us an email at info@3d-innovations.com
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3D Innovations is a Product Development Company – from the 3D Design to a fully functional 3D Prototype & Product.
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Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn today