Validate Design During the Manufacturing Process

By RedEye RPM

Each year, Entrepreneur magazine publishes its list of emerging industries for the following year. Many real-life entrepreneurs, designers,  engineers and forward thinkers read the magazine to determine where to invest. However, another large group of individuals uses that list as a guide to develop their own start-up companies. Start-up companies always launch with one great idea and limited resources (mainly money) to make that idea a reality. Rapid prototyping companies are learning that their technology is an ideal way for these entrepreneurs to create their products, validate designs and get to market quickly.

  Over the years, we have seen many employees of Stratasys and RedEye create widgets and gizmos that they would then build using Fused Deposition Modeling technology. Working in an environment that allows you the capability to marry your creativity with your work is a privilege that few have, which is why rapid prototyping – or digital manufacturing – technology is playing a key role in helping start up companies succeed.

  The main key benefit of digital manufacturing technology for newly established companies is that they can validate their design during the manufacturing process without cost penalty. Some of our colleagues in the molding business have told us real customer stories of new companies creating a mold before their designs were finalized. Costs to create the mold start at around $25,000. With a limited budget – and investors watching every penny –  that setback could mean the success or failure of a company.

  RedEye recently worked with a company in the medical device industry that wanted to create a tool for surgeons. They decided to use the first few hundred parts as a way to validate their design and make changes and enhancements to it before sending the final product to mass production. With that in mind, the organization leveraged the ability to really test the product with surgeons and identify their specific needs for the tool – really capitalizing on meeting the customer demands. A year – and 2,500 digitally manufactured parts – later, the organization made its first $1 million from its design.

  Many Stratasys and RedEye employees have a passion for music. We even put together a band that plays at company events. One day, we decided that it was time to tie together our passion and our hobby by building a custom guitar. We built our first guitar from polycarbonate ISO because of its mechanical properties and the translucent look of the material. The result of that design turned into a real, working, musical instrument. So, we decided to make more. Our second design was made from ABSi red. We shipped that model to Stratasys’ European office for use at tradeshows and as a marketing piece. From there, we made a third guitar with two different colors – ABS black and blue –  in an S shape to represent Stratasys. Now, as a formally established business unit, RedEye needed its own guitar. In early fall, we designed and built a very custom piece for RedEye.

  The point is that digital manufacturing technology is helping startup companies and entrepreneurs initiate their ideas and deliver truly validated, tested products to market in a timely fashion. Not to mention that the competitive advantages of using digital manufacturing as a bridge to tooling is far reaching. Consider that the lead time to create a mold for mass production takes anywhere from three to five weeks. With digital manufacturing technology, designers send a CAD file and can receive initial models and parts within three to five days. That is a considerable time savings. That time savings could have made all the difference for Ransom Olds and his production-line that Henry Ford greatly expanded a few years later, making Ford a leading manufacturer of automobiles – a title they still hold today.

  The key is to produce a better product and get it to the market faster. Digital manufacturing is a solid alternative to helping new companies reach that goal. As the technology and materials continue to evolve and progress, the manufacturing industry will only continue to see RP as a competitive process.

RedEye RPM
8081 Wallace Road
Eden Prairie, MA   55344
866.882.6934
redeyerpm.com