New Product Development Process
Stage One: Consultation
After you have decided to go forward with your idea, the first step is to meet for a free consultation. The purpose of this meeting is to share your concept and get a clear understanding of the procedure that is necessary to achieve production. The more clearly you can envision your product and how you want to bring it to market, the better. Mr. Wolf will listen to your concept and review what materials you have brought to the meeting. There are a few questions you will be asked that will help him understand the path you want to take. These basic questions are:
1) What is purpose of your idea?
2) Do you have a prototype?
3) What is the target demographic?
4) Are there existing products that you feel are lacking and how is your idea better?
5) Are you interested in getting a patent on your invention?
a) Have you performed a patent search or know if you are close to an existing patent?
6) What is your target sale price?
7) How many units do you realistically envision selling in a year based on similar products?
8) Do you want your invention to be manufactured in the USA?
9) What level of involvement do you want to have in the manufacturing and assembly?
a) Do you want to establish a manufacturing and assembly facility?
b) Only assembly and shipping?
c) Would you rather go to a contract manufacturer and have the product drop shipped to the end user?
Depending on the product, Mr. Wolf should be able to break down a ball park estimate of the overall expenses to get your invention into production. Shortly after the consultation he will provide you with an estimate of costs to get a SolidWorks 3-D model.
Stage Two: Design
After the initial consultation is complete and the engineer is confident he understands your product it is time to narrow down the details of the design. The first step will be to discuss the design obstacles that could be costly or difficult to overcome. Usually, you will be presented alternatives that can cut costs. At this point Mr. Wolf will start to create a 3-D CAD model of the design. Design reviews will be scheduled often. At the end of this process you will have a 3-D CAD model that you can show others. This is also a good stage to begin the patent process. From the CAD model it is simple to create the patent drawings necessary when filing for a patent. Photo realistic images can also be created to show investors and start marketing. Once the design is agreed upon, it is a good time to do a cost analysis of the end product to determine if it meets the desired manufacturing budget.
Stage Three: Prototype
When the initial virtual design is complete, it is time for the product to take physical shape. Even though the design looks good on the screen, until you can hold it in your hand, you can never be certain it is right. SolidWorks does an amazing job of representing a complex assembly in motion to find interferences and make sure it performs as desired, but nothing beats building a unit to prove out the design.
Stage Four: Testing
Many people want to cut this stage short. At Lone Wolf R&D testing is viewed as the most important stage of development. Extensive testing can save you a lot of money in recalls or product returns. It is important to make sure that the item will perform as desired. Finding a weakness or limitation at this stage will ensure that the end user is happy. Many products are governed by a set of industry or government standards. Running a series of tests as set forth in these standards is important to make sure that production models will pass the requirements and reduce liability.
Stage Five: Manufacture
Once the desired performance is obtained, it is time to find a manufacturer, establish an assembly procedure, a quality control process, and shipping protocols. Engineering support doesn’t disappear at this point. Assistance is just a phone call away to handle any difficulties that arise in production or develop advanced models.