Jun. 10, 2024
I have developed & manufactured electronics in Asia for the last 20 years.
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Most people go through different versions of prototypes, putting it in the hands of target users is essential, keeping your idea secret is a big mistake.You will get a lot of feedback which more often than not lead to drastic rethinks of the whole device. So I strongly suggest to go to China only after you are VERY sure what you want. At home you can iterate a lot faster. Best would be for you to start playing around yourself with Arduino, which is a very newbe friendly way to make and program hardware. If that's really not for you then find some enthusiast at a local makerspace to do it, they're all over now http://spaces.makerspace.com/makerspace-directory.
You can also quickly iterate on the housing design using free 3D CAD software and 3D printers.
Do realize that Arduino is a great way to validate your specification, but not a cost effective architecture for a mass manufactured product, so a lot of the work will need to be done all over again, see https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/kickstarter-prototype-production-100k-enough-keesjan-engelen
So don't spend months and months to get your firmware just right, to get your cost to an acceptable level you likely will have to switch to another processor which needs to be programmed in a different language.
Once you're happy with the way the prototype works I would look at manufacturing as follows:
1. China is the best place to manufacture electronic products. If only because they have the most complete supply chain in the world. https://techpinions.com/why-cant-the-us-build-consumer-electronic-products/ China has many thousands of factories making any kind of part imaginable. They are especially unmatched in any part which needs to be custom made: housings, batteries, PCB&#;s, motors, LCD&#;s, cables&#;.
2. One of the keys to reducing cost, time and risk in product development is to use existing parts as much as possible. Quite a few firms for some reason still regularly have LCD&#;s custom made. Why pay $250,000 in set-up, and months in mold production and sampling, if you can design around an LCD which is already being manufactured in huge quantities?
3. 60% of the unit cost of a product are decided in the architecture stage, and 20% during the design. As they say at Toyota: &#;&#;Skillful improvements at the planning and design stage are ten times more effective that at the manufacturing stage.&#;&#; http://www.design4manufacturability.com/DFM_article.htm
4. Doing your design without close interaction with the China vendors means you&#;re missing a lot of information, which leads to sub-optimal design decisions. The further you advance in the design process, the more expensive it gets to change anything. So if 98% of a product&#;s design is already done and validated in testing, you can hire a really smart China manufacturing consultant, but there is only so much they can do because most aspects are frozen already.
5. Another important tenet of Design For Manufacturing (DFM) is early supplier involvement. If you need custom parts better make sure that the factory who will make them actually feels comfortable manufacturing them. This requires a lot of communication in the design stage.
6. If you&#;re in the US the 13 hours&#; time difference and language barriers make a smooth & fast collaboration with Chinese engineers very difficult. Plus if you have never worked with the factory before they&#;re not going to put much time in optimizing a design they may never get to make. Only for established clients does a factory see a very real chance that they will be responsible to make the part efficiently and reliably, and so they will be very keen to help optimize your design for their processes and capabilities. The flip side is that you are optimizing your design for this particular factory, so you&#;d better be sure that they can indeed deliver.
7. Picking a factory is not easy, the proof is always in the pudding: how responsive are they, how do they react when there is a problem. Are they going to say: &#;Oooh you do not want the batteries to explode, you never specified that, well that actually costs a lot more&#;. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your princess. Except that in manufacturing kissing is not good enough, you actually have to get into bed with them, only after you have wired your deposit and have been working with them for 6 months do you really know your bedfellow. This goes not just for the factory doing the final assembly, but for every factory making custom components for you. Building a reliable roster of suppliers takes many years, and a lot of &#;tuition&#;. In China going for the lowest bidder in the end invariably ends up being the most expensive option.
8. The more complex your product, the more inter-dependencies between parts, the bigger the mess trying to get a product manufactured in China when it has been designed in a vacuum somewhere else (and it&#;s not just Kickstarters who run into this problem).
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9. The first samples for most any custom made part in most cases need some improvements. Some companies work will send their &#;China manufacturing guy&#; but it takes a lot for 1 person to master all the intricate considerations which went into the design of the cosmetic appearance, the construction of the injection mold, the layout of the circuit allowing it to pass FCC certifications, the adjustments needed in the calibration software&#; So at IBM for example knowledge transfer in manufacturing is considered a dirty word, the original designer of an aspect of the design has to see his design through all the way into manufacturing. Flying each of the 12 different functional experts over to China quickly becomes expensive, and not every engineer wants to camp out in a China factory dorm for months.
10. So doing electronic product design as close as possible to the factories making the parts and doing the final assembly will significantly lower your development costs, your unit costs, your time to market and overall risk.
11. The knee-jerk reaction to get this done is to asking a China ODM factory to adapt one of their products to your wishes. This can work well if your changes are minor. But if you want them to do more there are some serious risk with this approach: you don&#;t have any ownership of the design IP, and it more likely than not it will take ages. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/china-factory-designs-7-pitfalls-avoid-keesjan-engelen
12. If you're ready to camp out in China for a good 6 months then https://hax.co/ would be a great place to be mentored. https://www.hwtrek.com/ provides a lot of China & Taiwan resources for HW start-ups. You could also give the job to a consultancy such as www.detekt.com which specializes in helping start-ups.
13. Setting up your own design team in Asia can be tricky, the success hinges heavily on picking the right CTO to manage and build out the team. And in China this kind of talent tends to switch jobs very often, especially after they have obtained a foreign &#;stamp of approval&#; on their resume.
14. It is true that hardware can get copied very quickly, but copycats are unlikely to invest their efforts in an unproven product. So this risk comes up only after your product starts being successful in the market. By that time everybody can copy it, no matter whether you manufacture in the US or in China. In fact products manufactured in the US likely have to sell at a higher price, making them a more attractive target for copycats.
15. Furthermore, the painful truth is that excellence in hardware no longer gives your company a lasting competitive advantage, to build barriers to entry hardware companies these days need to work not just on brand and distribution, but also on Community, DataBase and Software. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/toasters-roller-coasters-how-hardware-startups-can-john-melas-kyriazi Doing this well is no mean feat, so I would focus most of your effort there, most of my clients are companies which realize that hardware no longer is their core activity.
My firm www.titoma.com works with well established companies, the reason is that 7 or 8 vendor partners put a lot of effort in collaborating with us from the very beginning to optimize every aspect of the design for manufacturing. They invest this time because from experience they know that the products we design will be manufactured with them parts for years. Unfortunately not every start-up becomes a runaway success, such is life, but I cannot afford to burn bridges with my partners, sorry!
When looking for good partners in China you will need to spend (and keep spending) a lot of effort on selling the factories on the fantastic prospects for your product, otherwise your 1K pieces project will quickly become their No. Last priority. So being there very often is essential.
Time:
21 April Prototype mitigates the risk of moving a project forward without enough information. It provides key information that helps engineers make decisions. Now let&#;s move on to choosing China prototyping company.Prototype mitigates the risk of moving a project forward without enough information. It provides key information that helps engineers make decisions. Now let&#;s move on to choosing China prototyping company.In China, the technology of rapid prototyping service is close to developed countries. Many countries have sent orders to China prototype manufacturers because of the low labor cost. Finding a qualified China prototyping company has become a required course for many overseas companies.There must be confused and nervous to order the first prototypes, especially when you are unfamiliar with the prototyping company. The process would be much easier once you know more about the China prototyping companies.To work better with China prototyping company, you need to know your suitable prototyping company type, prototyping process, and various considerations. Don&#;t worry. You will know all about it in the following reading.There are thousands of factories and countless platforms that can provide custom manufacturing services in China. The modern information network lets you find China manufacturers in various ways. However, different types of the factory can make a huge difference in quotes, manufacturing way, maintain services. A right prototyping company depends on various factors like, whether you have engineers, or designers on your team, or your design integrity, etc. We simply divide them into rapid prototyping or 3D printing shops, manufacturers of specific product categories, big design firms, and prototyping companies with both speed and manufacturing.Small rapid prototyping shops have become common and you can even find shops near you. These shops can provide more flexible communication and can be checked the prototyping process easily. But they have a fatal defect that prototyping shops are lack engineers to improve your idea and support future volume production. Many engineers who prefer 3D printing for prototyping, may have to redesign for volume production without considering volume production. Prototyping & 3D printing shops might be more appropriate for simple processing or low-volume production.This kind of manufacturers can only produce samples from their existing products. Their fixed producing pattern and technology decide that only minor adjustments can be applied to the samples. They are more interested in getting larger volume orders, and not usually interested in custom products for startups or entrepreneurs. You may lose some or all of the ownership if they help to develop.For example, you have a full-fledged earphone design that is ready to be manufactured. There is a minor difference in appearance, parts of functions between your designs and earphone manufacturers. It would be easier to work with this type of manufacturers. Just keep in mind to protect your product right.Big design firms usually have a team of engineers and designers. This team can help with almost everything from idea design to final production for a prototype. Some of the companies may entrust the manufacturing to prototyping factories. The prices from design companies are too high to lock out many startups and entrepreneurs. The design firms will be a perfect choice if you only have a good idea but fail to work the following.Prototyping companies are usually equipped with large factories and equipment to cover CNC machines, 3D printing machines, etc. The complete facilities make themselves to produce fast and get experiences. Prototyping companies and factories have professional engineers to offer advice. TS Prototypes is such a prototyping company. We can provide both rapid prototyping services and mass production. The transition is more flexible for our clients.Now you know your preferred prototyping company type and are about to talk with them. There are several steps for communication.Prototyping companies require 2D and 3D files. Usually, the 2D files are PDF, and 3D files are in STL, STEP, IGS format. Once you know what you need, show your ideas to your engineers and let them design the model. Startups or entrepreneurs can ask design firms for assistance. It may cost hundreds of dollars based on different designer abilities.The process of modeling is the first verification of your idea. It is the first step to turn your idea into something real to touch. There are kinds of problems that will come for it, such as functions, appearance, or details. You will feel more confident about the communication when you know each difficult point clearly. China factories are willing to sharing their experiences. A final prototype is a common purpose for both sides.It&#;s important to sign the non-disclosure agreement(NDA) if your product is the first in the market. Such an agreement protect your design from sharing out. Keep in mind that the NDA must sign with the end prototyping manufacturer. If you are working through a sourcing agent, you will need both the agent and prototyping factory to sign the agreement.Company information such as contact details.Product information such as appearance, function, and model details.Packing information such as logo, package design.Order information such as Qty, shipment plan, order plan.Almost all prototyping begins with the quote. RFQ means you outline what you want to your prototyping manufacturer. Prototyping website usually provides contact or online form. TS Prototypes provides both contact and forms for you to submit the request. You need to send your 2D and 3D files based on the provided contact info. The prototyping company receives your files and assesses the cost according to the material, producing equipment, and labor time, etc. The prototyping company will reply to you with the quotation after the calculation.The more detailed file you submit, the more accurate quote you receive. That&#;s why we usually require our clients to provide the 2D files. The 2D file lists something that can&#;t be found from the 3D model such as material, Qty, surface finishing, etc.China prototyping companies accept orders from all over the world. They get more knowledge in this field to provide you with advice. They can notice your unwise choice of quality or cost and make the improvement.After the quotation and necessary communication, you will pay part of the service expense(deposit). The manufacturer starts prototyping after payment arrives.A professional prototyping company will keep you up to date with the progress. The prototyping company will inform you of any issue and change in time. Your engineers can get the info to avoid the delay.Use it, test it, and collect all the comments when you receive the prototype. Pay attention to those bad comments and try to revise the prototype on reasonable conditions. Build the prototype again until it points to a perfect prototype. We recommend you to work with the original prototyping manufacturer as it is familiar with your need. Consider finding another manufacturer If you are unsatisfied with the previous service.The global market is changing related to various factors. China provides the balance between quality and price in the prototyping world. Choose a right and reliable China prototyping company might be difficult for worldwide customers. Understanding the necessary features of a reliable China prototyping company can help the choosing easier.Certifications indicate that the factory has passed an audit by an independent body. Certifications can&#;t tell the whole story, but they are a good start. Check with your China prototyping factory if they pass your needed industrial certifications.More authority means they are qualified to serve more industries from all over the world.TS Prototypes has passed ISO (Quality management system), IATF (Quality management system in the automotive industry), and information security management system. Click here to check our certificates.Good customer service means adapting to new and unusual requests. A right prototyping company&#;s sales are willing to take as much time as needed to answer your questions. All they have done is trying to help you to improve the project, not just pushing you for the order. Choose a company that prioritizes clients&#; needs at all times. Its useful advice can prove strongly that you make the right choice.Intellectual property security should always be the utmost concern when you build the product prototype from an external factory. Otherwise, you may wind up having your product idea be stolen and mass-produced. Ask your China prototyping suppliers to sign the NDA or check whether they have passed information security certification.Technology is constantly changing every day. The development allows to make a more complicated prototype and to higher the material workability. China prototyping company with state-of-the-art technology can provide cutting-edge competitiveness for your product. Check whether your China prototyping company has enough manufacturing equipment, inspection devices, and precise machines. Though your current prototype doesn&#;t require elaborate technology, a prototyping company which grabs the technology development can enhance your product and even the knowledge of the whole product development process.Working with a reliable China prototyping company that can &#;do it all&#; guarantees your prototype security. The more prototyping companies you are exposed to, the higher the security risk for your prototype design. A highly skilled and capable prototyping company avoids prototypes from factories with different capabilities. Find a China prototyping company who is committed to providing top-quality rapid prototyping and low volume manufacturing services of CNC machining, 3D printing, plastic injection molding, and vacuum casting, etc.Any reliable China prototyping company is equipped with a diverse team. This team includes extensively trained machinists, experienced engineers, and patient sales.Fast prototype delivery is essential to get your competitive edge in the market. The slow producing time is expensive in the long run. If your China prototyping company fails to meet your deadlines, it&#;s best to check elsewhere.Not only check your prototype before shipping, but quality control also means documentation and certification, ensuring that your prototype is made properly.We recommend you to try the most useful way to verify, which is to visit your China prototyping company. In the current case of COVID-19, you can consider more information about the prototyping company:How long your China prototyping company have been in business.Whether your China prototyping company export and to which countries.Your China prototyping company&#;s MOQ.Your China prototyping company&#;s business licence.Etc.Prototypes can determine the success or failure of your products. A reliable and trusted China prototyping company can save your production cost. TS Prototypes team has worked with numerous startups and enterprises for many years. We can provide you with quality prototyping services in many ways. Please click here to contact us if you would like a prototype quote.
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