Choosing a Prototyping Company
Having an idea for a product or item is busy but exciting work. Not only do you have to get designs ready in time, but you have to figure out the best way to move the product from the designing phase and into production so that you can get into the market before the competition. However, before moving onto production, it is important that you validate the design of the product with a thorough prototyping process.
Prototyping makes it easy to determine which materials and manufacturing techniques will be best for the product and fix any issues or flaws with the design. In order to get an effective prototype of your product, you will need to partner with the right prototyping company. Here are a few things to look for when searching for the best prototype manufacturing companies to work with.
Choosing a Prototyping Company
The ideal prototyping company will understand you and your product’s particular needs, help you navigate through the prototyping process, manages your data, provides suggestions that will improve the product while cutting costs, and — if needed — will help you kickstart production with low-volume bridge manufacturing. In other words, you’ll want to find a prototyping company that offers complete services and will help you solve the problems that appear during the process. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for to help you select the best prototyping company.
Industry Knowledge and Experience
Think about your product and the industry that it will serve. Ideally, you’ll want to find a prototyping company that has experience and knowledge about your industry. Reliable prototyping companies will know and understand the benefits as well as the limitations of materials for the types of applications you are considered, be familiar with the machines and equipment used to manufacture the end product, speak the same industry-specific language that you are familiar with.
These characteristics will not only enable a prototyping company to walk you through the prototyping process, but they will also help afterward as you communicate with vendors involved in the production stages.
Full-Service Prototyping Capabilities
Good prototyping companies will have all the required processes that will be used to create your prototype under one roof, especially in situations that involve assemblies or complex prototypes that require multiple manufacturing methods, such as plastic injection molding. You could potentially waste valuable days — and sometimes weeks — working with a prototype company that sources each and every part of your prototype from different places and then assembles these components before shipping them out to you. Simply put, this wastes valuable time that you likely do not have. Additionally, you do not want to be responsible for coordinating orders between multiple prototype development companies. This adds to many variables to the process, as well as into your daily work schedule.
Investment in Modern Prototyping Technology
In today’s world, technology is constantly evolving and these advances allow for more complex concepts and designs and the increased workability of materials. Be sure to look for a prototyping company that uses modern state-of-the-art technology to create quality models. Modern technology is something that shouldn’t be overlooked, even if the design of your product doesn’t require any elaborate techniques. Prototyping companies that are aware of changing technology will have the knowledge needed to enhance your product and maybe even the development process of a product altogether as well.
Processes for Rapid Change Management
Remember, product designs are never really permanent. More than likely, something will change during the prototype process. Notable prototyping companies will have an understanding of this and will have a rapid change management system that enables team members to adapt to any tweaks and changes quickly in order to keep the prototyping phase on track.
Flexibility in Low Volume Production
With product development cycles being so short not, it is common to run into a situation where manufacturing tooling is not readily available in time to meet the planned launch date of the product. Additionally, it is possible to have a low-volume product that simply cannot justify traditional production tooling in the first place. In these situations, it is beneficial to work with a prototyping company that can handle all production types, especially, low-volume. Not all of these companies are able to create bridge tooling that will have the ability to deliver production-grade parts, so it is important to do your research and choose wisely!
Choose a Full-Service Prototyping Company
Don’t risk working with a product development company that will only cause delays and frustration while your competition beats you to the market. Instead, validate designs and begin the production process as quickly with the team at Glober Design, a full-service prototyping company that uses the latest technology and machinery to transform your designs into a full-scale prototype. With rapid prototyping services available, we can quickly get a model of your product in your hands.
To learn more about what our prototyping company has to offer or to request a free quote, contact us!