Product development in electronics manufacturing involves prototyping: a process that transforms an idea or design concept into a tangible, working model. As members of the team give more design ideas and features, they may create more than one prototype until they have a final version that meets their quality standards and goals.
It’s important to invest in prototypes because they are critical for testing the design, functions, and user interface. But creating a functional version of your latest product idea is not the only purpose of prototyping.
Allazo Electronics can help you maximize the prototyping process so you can gather important data and improve segments of your electromechanical device assembly.
Focused Goals
In building a prototype, you quickly eliminate the approaches, materials, and concepts that don’t work for your project. Your engineering team can focus instead on the ones that do and explore innovations that could improve the model further.
Prototypes also serve as implementation guides. They help settle confusion or conflicts among designers and engineers who may have varying opinions on how production should proceed. With the prototype as the baseline, it becomes easier to test different approaches, analyze their trade-offs, and determine the best course of action.
Reduce Expensive Rework
One rule in manufacturing is that it’s better to mess up early and for a fraction of what it will cost to fail at an advanced stage of the process. For instance, it is better to discover the flaws of a prototype and correct them while you’re still in product development than after you’ve gone into full production. By then, you’d have spent a large amount of production capital on equipment, software, and new employees.
Prototyping prevents expensive rework because it gives you time to experiment, specify problems, find solutions, and define production requirements. With more data on hand, you can make smart decisions when it’s time to assemble the production line.
Determine Production Budgets
Prototyping helps you define the most efficient production process. You’ll have a clearer idea of how long mass production will take and what materials and assembly strategy will produce the best results. Based on these data, you’ll know how much it will cost to go into full production. Moreover, you’ll be able to prove the accuracy of your estimate because you have the data to back up the figures.
Secure Investor Funding
Creating a working prototype is an important milestone, but it still doesn’t guarantee success. Unless you can foot the entire capital necessary to fund the entire production, you must convince stakeholders to invest in your product.
You’ll have a higher chance of securing their investment if you can present a working prototype. A functional device, after all, is proof that your venture is feasible. Also, a prototype can bridge communication gaps between engineers and stakeholders. What the latter cannot understand on paper becomes clear when they see, hold, and test the prototype.
Indeed, the benefits of prototyping are far-reaching, starting from concept development and going beyond full-scale production. Yes, prototyping is an investment risk; there is, after all, a chance that your concept won’t turn out to be feasible. But, if you prove that it does, the payoff can be great for your company.
Allow us to help you in prototyping your custom electronic devices. Allazo Electronics has the experience, skills, and equipment necessary for this process. Also, we’re thorough in our documentation. You’ll have all the data you need to estimate costs, propose budgets, and plan an efficient production line.
Contact us to get started
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