The Steps To Product Development

Do you have an idea that you think can change the world? Do you want to bring some kind of product to the masses? For whatever reason, you feel the urge to create something! Maybe because it comes off as empowering; perhaps you were just hit with a great idea. Regardless, you are very interested in pursuing some kind of idea and creating a product. What is there to do next? What can you do about moving forward with your idea? Well, before anything moves forward, you need to actually design your product.

Before a piece can be mass manufactured, it has to be designed. This means that you will have to create some kind of CAD files or 3D computer files of your product. An image of this design will be taken into account by whichever machine that will manufacture your product. 3D printing in particular will be dependent on this design as well.

What is 3D printing and how is it relevant to product development? First off, 3D printing is a layer by layer form of manufacturing that can create a wide variety of shapes that traditional machining cannot create. 3D printing is great for small scale creation. When moving forward with a product idea, a prototype is very necessary for testing, and promoting to investors. 3D printing can create products in units of 1-2, 10-20, or even more than that if you’d like. Although it is more expensive per unit than mass manufacturing, it isn’t very expensive to create your own products at the small scale. Placing a specific order at a machine shop could take hundreds, if not over a thousand dollars. 3D printing can create prototypes at prices under $150. I want to emphasize that this price is dependent on where you would go, and it is also subjective to your design. Regardless, having a custom piece created isn’t very expensive to do on a small scale. But what is significant about doing this?

Like I said earlier, before a product is mass manufactured, is should be tested. The last thing you want to do is spend $20,000 on a mass order or product to find a series of problems with the design. Through 3D printing, you have the opportunity to preview what your design will look like. On top of that, this technology can be very powerful for marketing your idea. When it comes down to actually mass producing your product idea, finding the capital may be difficult. Even if you outsource your idea to save money, it will still cost quite a bit! When appealing to investors, showing potential capital holders your product idea, dream, and motivations in conjunction with a physical prototype has the potential to land you a deal! Sure, people have received capital without having an actual prototype – but I’m saying that it could only help your odds. 3D printing has been helping for marketing purposes for years, and it’s not going anywhere. It could be the deciding factor to getting the capital for your product!