Shortcuts are not often found in manufacturing — in fact, the typically advisable response to any manufacturers offering you a shortcut is to take the quickest route away from them. That’s not an all-encompassing rule, however, especially when manufacturing software is involved. That’s what we’re here to write about today; specifically, shortcuts in SOLIDWORKS for 2016.
Have you purchased a 3D printer yet? With 3D printer prices running as low as just a few hundred dollars at some online outlets, the tipping point has been reached for many people who have been curious about what the technology offers to the home hobbyist. While RevPart can handle your engineering grade prototyping, here is a useful guide for hobby printers.
Prototyping is one of the most important steps in the product design and development process, and in many ways, it can be the linchpin of your product cycle. Consider that during the prototyping phase, you are actively bringing your product through from concept to reality — the prototype is what bridges these two bookends. Prototyping is likely when you’ll learn the most about your product, because so many questions will be answered — how does it look and feel in a real 3D form? How easy or difficult was it to produce? Is it structurally sound? Is it feasible to move to production?
For many manufacturing scenarios, injection molding is the best choice on many fronts: speed, cost and product reliability. The process is perfectly suited when large quantities of highly repeatable, consistent parts are needed at a relatively low per-piece cost. The versatility of injection molding does not, however, mean that it’s without potential pitfalls. Manufacturers and potential entrepreneurs with new product concepts can run into any number of problems without properly considering all aspects of the process, leading to inferior part quality, manufacturing delays and unplanned cost overruns.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur just venturing into the world of new products, or an established business or shop owner with an idea on how to expand your existing product line, the product development process holds the same excitement, opportunity and promise. The product development phase acts as a critical bridge in the manufacturing process between pure brainstorming or ideation, and the production phase of your new product rollout. In short, product development is where your concept becomes reality.
Advances and improvements in 3D printing have raised the technology’s profile as a game-changer in manufacturing over the last several years. While rapid prototyping and the additive manufacturing methods that 3D printing comprises have been around in some form for decades, the greater accessibility, affordability and versatility that today’s 3D printing offers mean that its potential to change manufacturing as a whole is at an all-time high.
The partnership between manufacturing and the medical device and prosthetics industries has a long, rich and productive history. The visions of medical revolutionaries who have researched and developed ways to heal the human body, both inside and out, are only as practical as their ability to bring them to fruition. This is where manufacturing’s ingenuity, dependability and creativity come into play, shepherding previously unheard of medical advances through the final step of becoming a reality.
Manufacturing shouldn’t be intimidating for a budding startup — but it’s understandable that sometimes, it can be. The mysteries of the unfamiliar processes, terminology and methods that are revealed once you look closer into the “how” of taking your product to market can seem overwhelming. Manufacturing does, like any other aspect of your business plan, demand education and research. Fortunately, by investing the required time to learn some of the biggest pitfalls to avoid, the production step of your product can be solved and perfected, just like other areas like your marketing or distribution plans. You’ve found a good place to start: here are five of the biggest mistakes for a startup to avoid before selecting a manufacturer.
The medical industry is a field that sees continuous, ongoing innovation on both a large and small scale. For all the lifesaving and life-improving advances that we’ve seen in our lifetimes (and have read about from even earlier), the scope and velocity of the breakthroughs that continue to advance the industry assure us that the best is likely yet to come.
If you are looking to launch a scalable business, you may find the prospect daunting. Launching a startup or running a small business is a full-time job, and there is precious little time at the end of the day to think about ways to scale product or sales.
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