Learn how to take your technical products from prototype to market with greater efficiency.
Knowing how your potential manufacturing partner will take your existing design from prototype to production is crucial before making a commitment. The journey involves several key stages designed to ensure quality, efficiency, and alignment with your requirements.
Initially, you’ll engage in detailed discussions to outline what you expect from your manufacturing team. This is followed by the prototyping phase, where your manufacturer will create and test mock-up versions of your product. Once you approve the prototype, pilot production will refine manufacturing methods and address any issues. After you and your manufacturer are satisfied with the pilot and overall process, you can launch into full-scale production with continuous quality control and communication.
Let’s explore each aspect of prototype to production in more detail so you know exactly what to look for when choosing a manufacturing partner.
The process begins with in-depth discussions about your specifications, requirements, and expectations for the item(s) your manufacturer will produce. When working with a manufacturer whose responsibilities begin at the prototyping phase, you will need to bring several references material to this initial meeting, including:
Your manufacturing team will use these references to plan their approach for prototyping and ensure their methods align with your goals.
Prototypes are essentially a “first draft.” During this stage, your manufacturing team will test production processes and the product’s performance and aesthetics to identify and resolve any flaws or issues. You can bring other company stakeholders into this stage to gather feedback and make requested or required adjustments before progressing to the next phase of manufacturing.
Pilot production is critical for ensuring your customers receive items that exceed expectations. Here, your manufacturer will assemble a small batch of your product(s) to guarantee they have resolved all concerns from the prototyping phase. If necessary, they will further refine their methods before full-scale production. This is the ideal time to test production workflow, identify any inefficiencies, and ensure quality meets your standards.
During this phase, your manufacturing partner will also work with you to develop detailed plans for mass production, including finalizing supply chain logistics, scheduling production runs, and establishing quality assurance protocols.
Once all of your company’s stakeholders and your manufacturing team are satisfied with the pilot’s results, it’s time to launch full-scale production. Your manufacturer will implement the detailed production plan and deploy your rigorous quality assurance protocols in conjunction with their own. With the help of packaging and logistics teams, you’ll get your expertly engineered products delivered to customers intact and on time.
At Ten X, we have a team of highly skilled engineers, designers, and machine operators. When you need to take a technical product in the medical, agriculture, aerospace, transportation, or electronics industry from prototype to production, you can reduce costs and time-to-market by choosing a partner who handles everything under one roof.
Request a Quote