Our Prototyping Expertise Evaluating Value and Risk
Design of devices for the real world starts with ideas and exploring possibilities. Size, form, materials, colors, textures, motion, stress, assembly, durability and many other decisions need to be sorted. The Question – when to build a prototype? Answer – when there is enough uncertainty that it warrants the expensive process of making physical parts and building prototype models to test assumptions and functions.
We build to learn, and for show. From early sketching, 3D CAD and foam models to production tested units, every decision to build a real-world object is intended to systematically reduce big risks and make decisions on the wide variety of choices that make up a final product solution.
Strategic Prototyping - Avoid Costly Late-Stage Product Failures
Too many prototypes answer the wrong questions. Design companies will build stunning models for investors, then discover critical flaws in the design transfer to engineering and production— late-stage major design modifications can cost 10x more. The same trap catches everyone from Fortune 500 OEMs to first-time entrepreneurs.
Our systematic build-and-test approach identifies risky hypotheses and assumptions about feasibility. We dive into these critical issues early in development as changes to the product design are evolving to reduce and remove risk as we maximize the new product value.
We’ve seen teams skip $5,000 bench tests, then face $250,000 tooling changes. Or choose components without verifying availability, forcing complete redesigns when suppliers can’t scale or parts are discontinued. You need experts to identify and qualify risks and provide options.
- Bench model testing to validate risky mechanisms before full integration
- Component sourcing verification during part selections, not after builds
- Progressive risk reduction from bench models through to beta units
- In-house prototyping shortens iteration cycles from weeks to days
- Engineering assessments on feasibility figure out what not to do
Read Feature Article: Design Engineering Magazine – Finding the Happy Path, Interview With Design 1st CEO, Kevin Bailey
Why we Prototype (Build & Test)
Assessing Feasibility, Value and Risk
In the world of designing physical devices, you cannot just build a fully working product each time you want to evaluate a potential solution. Unlike the software world the cost of build and test is orders of magnitude greater and time to design and build each iteration to the fidelity expected by users is many months not days. The only practical way to evaluate and refine a physical product design is to use focussed testing of specific known risky elements to collect specific data to help make design decisions, as your product development progresses.
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New physical product ideas come with new opportunity and potential unknowns (risks). Will the new device be useful to the users performing tasks with it or the new functionality it brings? Will this “new device or tool” be effective, efficient, and valued more than how the task is performed today with existing method-tools-devices? Many other questions around new functionality and the unknowns come up during the development of a new product. Creating and refining the new product idea will always require prototyping and evaluation of risky elements of the new design.
The methodology of evaluation involves creating “stimulus materials” (never the whole product) to try out (and explore with stakeholders) to get feedback and assess real value along with the associated new risks. With each ‘thing’ we build, and evaluation test we carry out, we make better product configuration decisions as the development progresses. The methodology is to design the new value, think about potential high risks worth investigating, then BUILD very specific stimulus material to evaluate the potential risk and then carry out the appropriate TESTING using the “stimulus material”, to qualify and quantify both value and risk. From this new info you make product configuration decisions that determine what the final production product will be, what parts it will use, what performance it is capable of and the many other attributes that make up a complete physical real-world product.
Getting user feedback, exploring technical feasibility, analyzing thermal with an FEA CAD model… there are hundreds of types of stimulus materials that can be created(built) and there are simple focussed ways to test to evaluate each risk for feasibility and value. An experienced team knows what is risky, what to avoid, what should be tested, when to test, where to test, what type of test is reasonable and how to be cost effective..
The most expensive part of your product development budget will be deciding what to test, when to test, what is required for the testing, and what elements of a design you can trust as low risk, so you don’t have to test them. Expert teams have the experience to guide you efficiently through your VALUE, RISK identification, BUILD and TEST decisions as you go from Concept Design to Detailed Engineering, Product Prototyping, and setting up for Manufacturing.
In-House Prototyping Technology
We build and test ideas in our 1500 sq/ft studio, mechanics, electronics, software and prototype labs. Onsite enables rapid iteration, testing, and early low-volume production
- FDM printing (PLA, ABS, TPU) with 0.2mm resolution
- SLA printing for high-detail parts down to 0.05mm layers
- 3-axis CNC milling for aluminum, steel, and engineering plastics
- 2-part silicone molds for durometer 20A-80A flexible parts
- Urethane casting for ABS-like and polycarbonate-like rigids
- Environmental chamber (-40°C to +85°C, 10-95% RH)
- SMT rework stations with hot air and microscopes
- Spectrum analyzer for RF testing up to 6GHz
- Thermal imaging cameras for heat mapping
- Also see our ID, mechanical, hardware and software pages
Smart Device Electronics Prototyping
Specialized electronics prototyping capabilities for connected products and smart devices:
- Development board prototyping (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32)
- Wireless systems: WiFi/WLAN (802.11), Bluetooth®, GPS, Cellular, RFID, ZigBee®
- Power systems including custom BUCK/BOOST, battery management, solar power
- Electronic circuit design and schematic capture
- AC/DC and DC/DC design for optimized battery life
- PCB layout for mixed signal/high speed/high layer count (Allegro®, Altium®, PADS®)
- Antenna placement and range testing
- Sensor integration (motion, environmental, biometric)
Build & Test Validation
Systematic validation through progressive prototype testing:
- Mechanism testing with force measurement and cycle validation
- Drop testing from 1-2 meters onto concrete per IEC standards
- IPX4-IPX8 waterproof testing with pressure chambers
- Thermal cycling -40°C to +85°C with functional monitoring
- Vibration testing (random/sine sweep) per MIL-STD-810
- Material fatigue and stress testing under load
- Button/switch activation testing for 10,000-100,000 cycles
- Component validation builds for supplier qualification
Production-Intent Prototyping
Bridge the gap from prototype to volume manufacturing:
- Alpha builds with custom PCBs and injection-molded housings
- Beta prototypes using production-grade materials (PC, ABS, PC+ABS)
- EVT/DVT/PVT builds following standard validation protocols
- Pilot runs of 10-100 units for field testing and certification
- Assembly time studies and workflow optimization
- First article inspection (FAI) documentation
- Production fixture development for repeatable assembly
- BOM cost reduction through component substitution testing
What Clients Say About Working With Design 1st
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Richard Mineo CEO, Swabbot Solutions LLC 
Design 1st Exceeds Expectations in Responsiveness
Read Case StudyDesign 1st took our Cobot from initial concept through final product testing, handling electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing needs all in one team. They efficiently developed our tank access system, finalized our swabbing robot, and created a benchtop version, keeping us updated and responding quickly to every change request.
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George Tsintzouras Director of Product, Christie Digital 
Immediately understood what was needed
Read Case StudyWhen we wanted to transition our older generation projector models to a more modern look and feel, Design 1st was a valuable asset. Given the depth of their design and engineering experience, Design 1st immediately understood what was needed. They worked with our internal engineering team through the process to provide us with compatible solutions to meet our needs.
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Stephen Rayment VP Engineering, Ericsson 
Our trusted engineering partner for six years
Read Case StudyDesign 1st has been our trusted industrial design and mechanical engineering partner for over six years and they have proven themselves to be valuable, competent and committed to our success. They add value because they understand the tradeoffs between user value and cost, the need to balance both the business and product objectives, along with excellent knowledge of materials and manufacturing / tooling options.
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Mike Tettenborn VP Engineering, Caframo 
Right balance of art and engineering
Read Case StudyWe selected Design 1st because their designers and engineers demonstrated the right creativity and technical understanding. With their CAD and modelling tools they were able to address the numerous design challenges encountered with this type of product. The end result was an easy-to-install, powerful marine hatch fan – unlike any on the market.
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Kurt Francis Co-Founder, CTO, Molecule 
Deepest bench of technical talent
Read Case StudyI did a lot of due diligence on product development companies and Design 1st had the deepest bench for technical capability. They worked on such a broad range of products with successful commercialization. Design 1st’s early efforts in prototype development helped us move from a powder substrate into a commercial product for testing.
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John Lupton Director of Engineering, GeoSight 
Got up and running fast
Read Case StudyThe whole design was my idea and I had patents on them. The team’s main work was to solve the functionality issue of a piece of my design. On top of that, they helped identify one of our manufacturers.
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Didi Horn CTO, SkyX 
Exceeded Our Expectations
Read Case StudyThe Design 1st team exceeded our expectations and helped us deliver an exceptional product to the market. As a startup, we were working within a budget but expected the highest quality product. Design 1st identified the risks up front, had the vast network of partners to find the right components, and customized it to meet our unique needs.
Prototyping should embed Manufacturing Thinking – and figuring out Feasible Solutions takes Iteration
Part selection and supply strategy runs in parallel with the design of the product. From prototyping to production product and beyond, we can provide manufacturer coordination services to avoid costly mistakes on production builds. By addressing sourcing, costing, and manufacturing strategy right from the start we ensure smooth transitions from idea to prototype to profitable production. Only taking risk where you have to requires experience and a process, but you cannot test everything.
It takes a physical design team with deep experience in mother nature and thousands of products designed and tested to know what the high failure risks may be, so you can carefully and selectively evaluate and minimize the level of risk where possible. We know the difference between passing certification tests and building durable and reliable products that engage customers and deliver new value.
Many Ways to Qualify Risk – from sketches to Bench Models to Pre-Production Units
Every item built to test should answer a specific question before moving to the increasingly expensive next stages of development. Too often design teams build $30,000 prototypes before validating basic user acceptance and ergonomics. Or they skip the $2,000 mechanism test, then discover their new style hinge fails after 1,000 cycles—requiring extensive redesign after production tooling was built.
Our approach is to build and test only what’s needed to answer today’s critical questions—perhaps a show model to attract investment, foam model for ergonomics, user interface model for user evaluations, a lab test to verify a circuit or mechanism, pilot run units for certification and so on.
Rapid In-House Prototype Builds and Iterations
Waiting three weeks for a prototype kills momentum while competitors pivot and capture your market when time to market is critical. We build and test risky elements in-house in our studio, mechanics lab, electronics lab and software lab.
With our network of prototype suppliers globally, its fast and low cost to do rapid iterations on risky items at every stage of the development process. We catch costly issues early in development when design choices lock in 70% of lifetime product costs. Rapid iteration means finding ways to test an idea or design change, in hours not days.
We maximize your design development velocity to accelerate the development time to product ready for sale and use.
In Use Testing - to Validate Product Fit and User Experience
Lab tests attempt to reflect reality to obtain critical insights and avoid field failures and one-star reviews of your new product. Your prototype survived your planned drop test height, but what about falling from a runner’s armband at mile 20 onto a concrete sidewalk? We simulate actual use conditions— like sweaty hands that chemically attack surfaces, dusty job sites that find their way into moving mechanisms and create havoc, and how about toddlers using your device as a teething toy which presents safety and durability challenges.
Our internal testing pushes limits to find failure points so we know where the product weaknesses are – and minimize them before you get to approvals testing and customers.
Production-Ready Prototype Builds - with Design for Manufacturer Checks
The prototype works perfectly, then a manufacturer is selected and their way of working is different than the design team envisioned and everything falls apart. Tolerances of the off-tool parts vary more than anticipated and the assembly stacks wrong, assembly takes 2x longer due to process steps not anticipated by design team, that clever snap-fit fails as the gate placement in the tooling design led to material flow weakness at the base of the snap. 95% of the time this is the reality when bringing physical devices to market. Once a product reaches the customer, it only takes one failed component to turn the entire product into landfill. Repair is only an option in the most expensive products.
We are experts at the 1000 failures that poor choices lead to. We think production limitations right from the start. Every model, survey, test and prototype orients around production limitations in process, materials and variation. By the time you’re paying for custom tooling, there are no surprises—just smooth transition as the manufacturer prepares for volume production.
The Only Team You Need to Move Your Product Through Design to Production
Design 1st’s in-house team of experts works as a single unit across design, engineering, software, and manufacturing to reduce risk, streamline development, and launch your connected device faster.
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Mechanical Engineering
Find creative mechanical solutions to technical challenges.
Mechanical Design Team
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Industrial Design
Transform your product concept into a refined manufacture-ready design.
Industrial Design Team
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Electronics Engineering
Add power, secure connectivity, and interaction control to your products.
Electronic Design Team
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Trusted to develop manufacture-ready connected products for Enterprises, Start-Ups, and Entrepreneurs
Portfolio of Projects
Across every industry, our team excels at developing technically complex projects.
Fully Certified and Award-Winning
Our company and staff are professional engineers with multiple industry certifications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need to Sign an NDA First?
NDA’s ensure confidentiality for both parties during conversations. We provide a mutual NDA where the terms apply to both parties. Your organization may already have a mutual NDA that requires our signature. Instead, we handle signatures via email, online, or as circumstances require.
How Much Will My Project Cost?
Designing a new hardware product starts with defining one or two possible Concept Designs (CD), based on requirements and business targets. Our technical sales team create the first CD budget with the major activities. When the work starts, we capture key product requirements, research opportunities, and unknowns, then together with you, we determine the best solution to develop.
Our experienced development team will then facilitate and help you define the many product requirements, carry out the creative design and engineering process, examine manufacturing feasibility, and provide an ongoing estimate of the direct product cost as details are filled in and decisions on features, functions, parts, and quality are made. For a new product concept of moderate complexity, the CD design exploration and architecture definition stage takes 200+ hours. This timeline depends on many factors, including uncertainty about first users and buyers, the uniqueness of the design relative to products in the market, the number of custom components required for design and manufacturing, product safety requirements, manufacturing setup, and the amount of documentation required.
Professional, experienced Product Design and Engineering teams in North America charge $125 to $400 USD per hour. Our rates are competitive at the lower end of this scale. After a phone discussion on your needs, we will provide a detailed design budget for review and signature.
Call us: 1.877.235.1004 x229 or schedule a meeting with Ian Kayser, our VP of Sales, who will help answer questions.
Need help tackling tough technical challenges in your product development?
Design 1st integrates our knowledge and expertise with yours to bring your product idea to life.
