Product Design and Manufacturing Support Services
Did you know 70% of a product's manufacturing cost is locked in during the design phase? We provide manufacturing set-up and support from the onset of your product design to ensure a smooth transition to volume production.
Early stage production planning.
Did you know 70% of a product cost is locked in during the early design stage of a product development process? The best solutions start with manufacturing knowledge incorporated into the very early concept stage of design where it matters most.
At the very start of your project you will be working with a senior manufacturing expert to get upfront key item costing and begin sourcing the best partners for your project.
Select custom and off-the-shelf components early.
It is important to find reliable part suppliers locally and globally. The design team begins a design with the right information on potential parts that can be used instead of creating new custom parts. By selecting suppliers and parts early on, it reduces churn during downstream development, prototyping, and testing. Switching part suppliers late in a design process will create cost of redesign for other parts that are affected by the change.
Early selection of suppliers helps you lock-in your product cost with predictability. This helps with cost-price targets during early sales and distribution discussions.
Mechanical part sourcing.
Finding the right component for a specific function and meeting target costs can be very challenging. Quality, cost and lead times can all impact your transition to production.
Knowing where to look and who to ask is very important and requires experience and knowledge. We identify off-the-shelf (OTS) plastic, metal, rubber, and composite parts that get manufactured by many suppliers through a variety of processes, then help you choose the right one. If a part or subassembly needs minor customization, we manage the process.
Electronic component sourcing.
Like mechanical parts, electronic parts can either be sourced off-the-shelf (OTS) or modified to suit the need. What direction you choose is dependent on a variety of factors including function, pricing, lead times, and potential single source or end of life supply risks down the road.
We provide electronic component design and sourcing including printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), cables, connectors, switches, display, and other components. In some case we can take an OTS electronic component and make custom modifications to meet your needs.
High level key item cost estimates.
Our clients benefit from our knowledge, contacts, and existing supplier relationships that allow us to provide estimates of major parts/components early on. This allows early product cost estimating for your business planning purposes.
Getting parts and custom tooling cost targets early helps the business planning for unit cost and pricing. Cost estimating is essential for the design team to make the appropriate decisions as they look at alternative approaches while refining features of your product design.
Supplier and production quality assurance.
Ensuring quality during volume production is paramount to your business success. Obtaining low defect rates for dozens of critical functioning components is always a challenge. We help you put a quality program in place for the contract manufacturer to follow and report on.
Our manufacturing set-up support includes product files, factory visits, and QA documentation that streamlines the transition to volume production.
Factory Selection.
Choosing where and how to manufacture your product is critical to quality, meeting timelines, and maintaining low production costs.
During product development, you work with our manufacturing experts to identify the right factory for your product and your supply strategy objectives. We know how to engage oversea suppliers during low-volume pre-production unit builds and testing. We coordinate factory communication for you, during the production startup stage.
Our manufacturing support services include:
