The product development process begins with an idea and that must go through a series of strategic events. These events refine the product into a concept that can be manufactured at a cost that will be able to be sold on the market.
Three Phases of Product Development
These strategic steps are called Phases. At the end of each phase, a decision must be made to either go back and repeat the process or move forward. If the process is done correctly and the market arena you are in remains stable, these three phases will be all you will need. However, due to unknown things in each phase and potential market changes that happen along the way you may have to go back to the first phase and start over.
- The first phase entails gathering as much information as possible without investing in a costly mold build. It requires meeting with all the members of the process to gain their preliminary input in the design of the part. This part of the process is the most important, as it defines the financial goal. Price targets must be established using real market information, and balanced against the cost of a mold and the molding cost.
- The second phase is building a prototype. In this phase we confirm most of the assumptions we made in the first phase, by molding some parts or making some rapid prototype parts. It must be done in a way that replicates the production process as much as possible, as the information gathered in this phase will validate the cost assumptions.
- Phase three is the final mold build. This can be the most costly phase, but it is crucial because it determines the molded product’s price based on how fast the mold will run. Typically it is not to the mold maker’s or injection molder’s advantage to produce parts fast, because they both get paid by the hour. This is where Outlaw Solutions and Concepts provides the value you need to produce your product. We can guarantee results, by showing you how to negotiate the best solution that produces optimal results, to help you meet cost and quality requirements.