subject: Refine Your Design To Save Money In New Product Development [print this page] Each time you work with the tool, you think, If only I could get it to do. until one day you realize that if you changed the design of the tool, you could probably make that tool a lot more effective. Sounds like a new product idea!
What is the first thing you do? File a provisional patent application? Absolutely not. Why not? You really do not know enough about whether or not your flash of insight about this design is even going to work. You also do not know anything about what materials you would use to make this new tool. If you file a provisional patent application without having enough information about the actual novelty of the design and its utility, you may find that when you have had the time to explore your design, you should have added some additional information to the application but now you cannot. Once a provisional patent application is filed, no new information can be added. You would need to start over again and pay a new fee. Wait on the patent application but do an Internet search to be certain someone has not already come up with this idea and claimed it. The other thing you can do to build the ownership case for your new invention is to document the design steps. Get a bound notebook, the kind with pages that can only be removed by tearing, and document all of your design steps. It is not as good as filing a provisional patent (which establishes the date for claiming the invention) but it can help you if there is a dispute.
Market potential
Stop and think about the potential for this new product. Would anyone besides you think it is a great new idea? Is there a viable market for it? In this example, it seems that the same people who buy the tool you have been working with would be willing to buy the improved tool so there is probably a market for it.
Crude Prototype
You need to understand how your new product will work. One of the best ways to do that is to create a crude prototype. A crude prototype is a three dimensional rendering of the product that does not necessarily have to work just like the real thing or be made of the materials you plan to use; it just needs to be a reasonable physical replica so that you can see it and think about it in three dimensions. Now you have something to work with. Inevitably, as you build your crude prototype with modeling clay and duct tape or cardboard and wire, you will learn more about how you want it to work and be able to make design changes.
Working Prototype
Next, build a working prototype. Again, it does not have to be the real thing. It needs to be close enough to the final product so that you can test it with people. To continue with the tool example, you may have made changes to the handle length, density, number and angle of bends, the articulations and so on. Your working prototype needs to show those changes well enough for people to test out whether it is really a better mousetrap or not.
You need to test your innovation on potential customers but, at the same time, you cannot publicly disclose your new idea without destroying your chance for a patent, if you want one. This means that you should test your product only on trusted friends and family members and ask for absolutely honest feedback.
What do they say about it? How would they improve on your design? Try writing an instruction manual for how to use it and a marketing brochure for why it is better than the tool that gave you the inspiration. If, after you have been through these steps, you still believe you have a great idea, it is time to make a prototype that you can bring to a manufacturer for production.
Final Prototype
Here is where your project can start to cost some money. There are a number of ways to get to that final model.
Manufacturer
You can go directly to a manufacturer with your working prototype and work with the manufacturers designers to create the final model for sample production. This may be the least expensive option but it may cost you money in the long run. The manufacturers in-house people will tell you the best way for that manufacturer to create your product, not the least expensive or most useful way for the product to be made. If you believe that there are a number of options available, you may want to get objective, third party advice.
Industrial Designer
An industrial designer is a specialist in translating a product concept into a finished product, using his knowledge of the many materials and manufacturing methods available. For example, the handle of your tool might be able to be cast in a hard resin or in steel, machine carved out of wood or made from some combination such as rubber over metal. The industrial designer will help you decide which materials make the most sense given the work that the tool will be doing and which manufacturing process will be most cost effective. You will pay for the industrial designers services but you may lower the production cost of your product for the long run.
Rapid Prototyping
One of the newest forms of prototype development available is called rapid prototyping. This new technology uses computer assisted drawing (CAD) software to create objects in three dimensions then directs the building of those objects by dictating the dimensions of layer upon layer or block upon block of the design. The fabrication machine reads data from a CAD drawing and lays down successive layers of liquid, powder, or sheet material to build up the model from a series of cross sections. These layers, which correspond to the virtual cross sections from the CAD model, are joined together or fused automatically to create the final shape. The advantage of this additive fabrication technique is its ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature. This technique may be helpful to you if you are designing a product that has an unusual shape or will require casting.
Diligence in the design creation will give you the greatest probability of developing a product that works just the way you want it to and can be produced as cost effectively as possible.
