4 Manufacturing Questions to Avoid Expensive Delays.
Designing a product for production and sale is more than developing a CAD model and a working prototype—it needs to be able to be sourced, manufactured, meet both cost, performance, and time objectives, be reliable, pass regulatory standards, and be serviceable (if applicable). In order to achieve this, you need a multi-disciplinary team employing DFM considerations from the outset.
Consider these 4 manufacturing questions to avoid expensive delays during development.
1 - What manufacturing methods will be used to create any custom components for the design? What impact, if any, will these choices have on the design?
Typically, this along with material choices is decided at the beginning of the design phase. However, you may choose to utilize different manufacturing methods during the early production stages vs. full-volume production. For example, molds used for high-volume production are typically much more expensive and require much longer lead time compared to lower-volume molds. It is often a good strategy to go with lower-cost, lower-volume molds while early production “kinks” are worked out.
At Acorn we have in-depth knowledge of a variety of manufacturing methods and often produce multiple works-like and/or looks-like prototypes during this design phase. This is an essential step that reduces risk before jumping to full-volume production.
2 - How to qualify a manufacturer for your product?
Choosing the right manufacturer is an important decision in any project. Depending on their confidence they may require more or less tolerance on any given part which could lead to unwanted design results.
During Acorn's 30 years of developing products, we have created an extensive list of trusted and experienced vendors. We use our in-depth knowledge of a product’s design – from the criticality of certain tolerances on key parts to the impact on the product if potential changes are requested, in order to identify and recommend resources to our clients.
Once a manufacturing recourse is identified, it is critical that the design team work closely to transfer their knowledge of the design to the CM. This direct line of communication is essential in order to quickly resolve potential issues that may occur as manufacturing volume starts to ramp. This is particularly important if you are planning to manufacture in places such as China, where distance and cultural/language differences are things to contend with. Acorn recognized this issue many years ago, which lead to the creation of our engineering team in China, staffed by native Chinese Acorn employees. They are part of the development team for our clients and play key roles in transitioning products to manufacturing.
3 - How friendly/compatible is the design to the assembly process for your contract manufacturer?
Considering assembly time is important when dealing with a Contract Manufacturer (CM). The ease with which the product can be assembled using their processes, tools, and skills, drastically helps minimize assembly time and creates the highest yield with reduced cost.
For higher volume products, it may be advantageous to tweak the design so it can utilize automated assembly methods. Ideally, CM’s should work closely with the development team early on to optimize the design with this in mind.
Development teams that have a good deal of manufacturability experience (such as Acorn) will work to create designs that are assembly-friendly from the very beginning of concept development. This foresight plays a significant role in reducing a product’s time to market.
4 - How will the product be tested during the assembly process?
The manufacturing phase includes testing strategies that determine the health of a product during and after the assembly process. These strategies are developed by the CM and design team to reduce waste and improve efficiency. For example, testing sub-assemblies for complex products are often used to reduce potential rework.
The testing/inspection strategy for individual components is also developed during this phase. The impact of a product failure will help drive the level of testing deemed necessary. A Class III medical implantable device obviously requires rigorous testing; however, so does a high-volume consumer product due to significant warranty claim exposure.
Our experience working on life science, medical and robotics projects allows Acorn to anticipate these requirements and include solutions that can be easily tested
