They say that there are ten manuscripts for every published novel. More importantly, there are dozens of potential products for everyone one that gets made. Many of them are good ideas, but they couldn’t make the leap from conceptual drawing to reality. Here are a few tips on how to go from drawing board to reality.
Review the Design with Manufacture and Test in Mind
It is easy to focus on the coolest aspects of the design or the most innovative features. Review the design again with manufacturing and test in mind. How difficult will it be to test the electrical contacts or inspect the soldering on the board? Will you run it through X-ray or have someone manually inspect it? What can you do to make it easier to assemble and test? Start coming up with test plans as you finalize requirements and begin designing it. Review your parts list. What parts are available off the shelf? What could you substitute instead that is more robust, costs less, or is simply more readily available? Don’t ask for them to use an adhesive safe for use inside a jet engine when standard Loctite is sufficient. This is literally called design for manufacturability, and it matters almost as much as designing something that’s high quality. After all, if it is too expensive or lacks important features, it is a failure by the customer’s definition.
Work with the Right Contract Electronics Manufacturer
Contract electronics manufacturers often specialize in low volume production runs. Let them build one or several variations of your initial design. Then you have something to test, take to investors to make the sales pitch, or give to customers to get real world feedback on. The contract manufacturer may give you advice on how to lower its overall cost, make it easier to build or simplify the testing process. They can also provide expert advice on how to make the product more robust or help it meet higher quality standards. There is no guarantee that something made in a factory that meets ISO 9000 certifications will be ISO 9000 certified, but that’s a necessary first step.
Plan on Multiple Builds
Manufacturing a working prototype is an accomplishment. You’ve gotten it from concept to reality. Plan on multiple, additional builds. Build the first one, test it, and get feedback from customers and engineers. Make minor changes to the design. Send it to the contract manufacturer to build again, if you can’t make the minor changes in-house. Then review and test it again. This may be labor intensive, but it also ensures that your final design is as effective as the initial working prototype. Too many companies have had failed launches because they made changes to a functional design that didn’t work in reality.
Even students building items for major contests expect to go through multiple design iterations, along with experiencing some trial and error.
Plan the Rest of Your Process
Many companies focus on getting a working product but forget the systems and processes that must be in place to support it. How will you package the product to ensure that it arrives at the customer’s door undamaged? And will customers be able to get the product out of the packaging without damaging the product? How will you handle requests for customization like different colors or personalized name plates?
