Many people and companies assume that when a product is designed and engineered that the product development process is complete. That is most certainly not the case for physical assembled products – and not expecting this fact can be very frustrating for the inventor and start-up. The product development process continues with production tooling through volume ramp then right into quality control and product improvement.
Once a product or part is designed in computer-aided-design (CAD) and is prototyped, in order to go into production volume tools need to be constructed (these may be injection molds, dies, stamping tooling, etc.). These tools can take anywhere from 5 – 15 weeks to build. Once they are built, the debugging process begins. And here is where things can get frustrating to individuals and companies trying to get a product to market – expect the unexpected. In the figure below, note the testing and refinement and product production ramp phases. It is common to think that product development is complete once detailed design is complete – it is not.
Figure. 1. Ulrich and Eppinger (2004) NPD process.
Even the most well-thought out design will invariable have issues during the last two phases (fit during assembly, sink marks, reliability issues). For complex products, this fine-tuning can take months or years. For an automobile, it can take two years from first prototype to production ready. During this time, design and manufacturing issues are resolved in an iterative manner. It is the response and quick resolution to these issues that is imperative to get a product to market. Things like tooling issue matrices, daily teleconferences, etc. mean the difference of time and money. For the entrepreneur and start-up – be prepared for the unexpected and realize that it takes time to get something right. Plan for the time and costs of product development AFTER the initial design is completed.
