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First Stage -
Define Product Characteristics and Goals
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Concept
Development
Identify
goals. Begin with a general idea and make it specific. |
 | Concept
Drawings.
Informal drawings for discussions.
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 | Market
Survey.
Learn what the target market thinks. We go into the field and
ask questions. It's important to do this as early as possible to save money and
keep the project on track. To see a sample survey sheet click
here.
We believe in surveying the target market at each stage of
the development process.
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Second
Stage - Create and Test
Prototypes
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Prototypes.
Many different prototypes will be built during the development
process. Some will be for aesthetics. Others will confirm
performance aspects. The final prototype is a working model that
enables end users to experience the product in a form very similar to its
final design. Final engineering drawings will conform to this
prototype.
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Third
Stage - Identify Manufacturing Sources, Obtain Quotes
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Engineering
Drawings.
In a reversion to design practices of the pre-electronic era, WorkTools
generally builds a final prototype first and then creates engineering
drawings to support it. The benefits of this practice are: 1) the
design is more fluid - it's easier to evaluate and change a prototype on the
fly when not constrained by drawings and, 2) software often imposes design
constraints - complex ergonomic curves are easy to carve by hand but
difficult to draw (and feel) on a computer. |
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Identify
Manufacturing Sources, Get Quotes.
WorkTools works with excellent manufacturers in the US and
Asia.
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Fourth
Stage - Production
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Freeze
the Design.
There is always something more to do, another feature to
add. Launch schedules and budget conflict with attaining
perfection. We work with a client to help decide when the
product is "good enough" and ready for manufacturing. |
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Pilot
Production.
We work with manufacturers to smooth out initial bumps in
production and assist in developing a test plan for quality assurance.
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Field
Tests.
Put some samples in the field to confirm real-world performance
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Commercial
Introduction
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Roll-Out.
WorkTools has excellent channels for distributing products in consumer
markets. We'll be pleased to introduce your product to our partners.
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 | Improvements.
Even before the product hits the streets we'll have new ideas for
improvements in future versions. We coordinate between clients
and suppliers to implement design improvements at points in time when
tooling changes and upgrades are taking place. Coordinating
improvements with natural breaks in manufacturing cycles can
significantly reduce costs.
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 | For
information on WorkTools' Product Development Services contact:
Mike
Marks Tel: 508-255-5227
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