If you are still at the conceptual/ideation phase and you still have all the development work ahead of you, you will generally need to go through these 6 steps:

1. Defining specifications
2. Feasibility/proof of concept
3. Prototyping
4. Tooling
5. Pre-production preparation
6. Production

We provide you with hands-on technical guidance, support, and management of these steps, or, if you are already somewhere along the process already, we assist you to move in the direction of mass production with lower risks.

You can see the NPI process typically used for electronic products, but equally appropriate for other new electro-mechanical products below with detailed explanations of actions taken in each phase (hover to zoom).

Here are typical ways we help companies make their NPI and DFM successful:

• Consulting on setting the right strategy (deciding what type of manufacturer to use, which component suppliers need to be directed, etc.).
• Confirmation of realistic objectives for the project and documenting a plan that will be refreshed at each milestone.
• Assistance in screening and vetting the manufacturing partner(s).
• Review of product design (for manufacturability, for quality…), risk analysis, and guidance on improvements required.
• Engineering design (as needed, often in complement of your team), assembly and testing of prototypes.
• Setup of a reliability plan (including a test plan) and execution of the tests, failure analyses, and suggestions for improvement.
• Development of a compliance testing plan, and management of certifications.
• Advice about, and management of, tooling (molds, fixtures, dies, etc.) for production and testing.
• Preparing the assembly line: drafting or reviewing work instructions and QC checklists, review of production readiness during pilot run(s), etc.
• Follow up on the start of mass production, documentation of serious gaps, and guidance on an improvement plan.