Proto Labs : How to Accelerate New Product Introductions (NPI) with Digital Manufacturing

Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for NPI

This is where injection molding comes into play, as the "looks like" and the "works like" prototypes are combined, using final end-use, production material. Important decisions are made at this stage, such as what material will be used for the product and which manufacturing process will be used, which is dependent on the quantity required. For example, if only 100 are needed, 3D printing might work just fine, but if thousands are needed, then molding is likely used. This stage is also where product developers use the design for manufacturability (DFM) process that helps validate the engineering aspects of the product and helps review cost tradeoffs. At this phase, developers can do iteration to validate and test different configurations, materials, and so on.

Design Validation Testing (DVT) for NPI

This stage is where all the design specifications are validated, looking again at the customers' needs. This DVT step makes sure that the final product meets the requirements defined early in the process. At this point, iterations are completed, design is ready for production, and the configuration is locked up. In addition, a quality engineering aspect is included in this process, which involves the usual quality checkmarks: first article inspection, quality documentation, quality audits, and so on. And, though quality engineering is mentioned here in this section, it is, in fact, an element that is woven throughout this entire process.

Production Validation Testing (PVT) for NPI

An important step, PVT involves verifying mass production yields with one, near-final, production-worthy design. This is all about scaling. We are getting close to ramping up for final production, transferring from prototyping to production. In other words, this process involves working through the "boxes" that need to be checked off before going into production.

Ramping Up to Mass Production

Essentially, this is a final step. It's a last look at things before launching to market with mass production of the product. As a digital, on-demand manufacturer, we can help with that ramp up, too. With us, you can procure parts on demand, without minimum order quantities (MOQs). This concept of manufacturing on demand helps you manage market volatility, so you're not tied to massive production forecasts. When demand spikes, you can get parts quickly, avoiding the risk of lost sales opportunities because of stock outages or long lead times. Along these lines, on-demand sourcing also lowers overall inventory cost and warehousing expenses.

As noted, this NPI or NPD process is deployed in most industries for the designing and building and launching of new products. Further, the key to a successful NPI process is speed, which enables rapid prototyping as engineers and product designers move through the process.

For questions about how our digital manufacturing services at Protolabs can help with your NPI needs, or questions about any of our services at Protolabs, please contact an applications engineer at [email protected] or 877-479-3680.

Gurvinder Singh is Protolabs' global product director for injection molding.