What is Reddit's opinion of Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals?

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Not specific for plastics, however, I would highly recommend "Manufacturing processes for design professionals" (Amazon Link) This will give you enough information and knowledge to understand discussions with manufacturers.

My personal favorite is Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals, which is sort of an overview and simultaneous deep dive into pretty much ever manufacturing process out there and how to design for it.

I’ve found textbooks to be the best for this. My favorites are https://www.amazon.com/dp/0500513759/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_NCQZ18FJ7SBXJTK1CHJZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 and one called The Materials Sourcebook for Design Professionals.

You should have taken a manufacturing class in college, pull out that textbook. This is another interesting reference: https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759

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I'd also go ask the machinist and fabricators in your company for suggestions. Or maybe ask if you can shadow them for a day or two. Most people are happy to help and would appreciate that you want to learn what they can teach you.

As stated above: manufacturing processes for design professionals

Also Process

If you want to drop a chunk of change, there is a textbook called "Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals". Even the Kindle version is $70+, but if you want to dive into a laser-focused study on material manufacturability, complete with photos & illustrations, then this is a pretty good starting point!

• https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759/

I'd also recommend checking out the book "The Design of Everyday Things" for the mindset that goes into designing usable products:

• https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/

As far as what's out there to learn about, let's just throw out a random number of 100 manufacturing processes:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_manufacturing_processes

Keep "natural mapping" in mind:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_mapping_(interface_design)

This might be a bit deeper than what you're looking for, but this textbook covers concept of "designing for manufacturing" in detail, which simply means making stuff that humans can actually make lol:

• https://www.routledge.com/Design-for-Manufacturability-How-to-Use-Concurrent-Engineering-to-Rapidly/Anderson/p/book/9781482204926

On a tangent, this is a good video from Nonfiction Design on the very general basics of design for manufacturing:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT8o5Bo8M2E

Here's a good introduction on using "design guides":

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DR8MN7uKZo

I've worked in & around manufacturing for a long time; one of the biggest problems in modern times is:

1. Shop classes have been phased out in a lot of high schools, so kids aren't getting hands-on time with actual parts - making stuff, rebuilding stuff, etc. Same deal with automotive classes in school. So a lot of those basic shop tool & assembly skills never got built growing up!
2. A lot of kids don't come from a hands-on background with family projects & personal hobbies that involve making stuff like Legos, balsa-wood R /C airplanes, working on cars, summer jobs building houses, etc., so having that "innate" understand of how stuff gets built, assembled, and worked on never gets developed
3. CAD is so fast & easy these days (I even do it on my iPad with Shapr3D lol) that kids can become design jockeys with no knowledge of actual assembling requirements, i.e. people have to be able to assemble things with automated machines, with their hands, etc. & be able to tear them apart to work on them, so if things are made too small or with fastener locations in weird spaces, then special tools have to be developed just to do basic maintenance work!

So then you run into exactly the situation that you described, where there's an impressive visual veneer of complexity in the CGI world, which doesn't really tie into actual manufacturability lol. Here's a good video overview of the basic manufacturing processes: (about 10 minutes long)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um_g8sQ_p3Y

There are a TON of Youtube videos that document the various manufacturing processes, which are actually pretty fun to watch. Like, modern continuous automated manufacturing processes are mesmerizing:

• https://youtu.be/EB89Glm3HhE

That whole channel is awesome:

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXQ0opKNREpA62x7gMk_hZw/videos

There are some good Youtube channels that have industrial design reviews, such as Design Theory:

• https://www.youtube.com/c/DesignTheoryDigest/videos

Eric Strebel's channel is pretty good:

• https://www.youtube.com/c/EricStrebel/videos

Anyway, outside of the video on the basic manufacturing processes above & the first book linked at the top, I'd recommend just spending a few minutes watching Youtube videos on the various manufacturing processes out there, starting out with the Wikipedia link above as a foundation to start with, so that you can start to understand fasteners, welding, injection molding, using a lathe to make parts, etc. if you're interested in making authentic-looking models!

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I have gone from idea-to-market on 3 physical products, and I can tell you:

1. it's an amazing experience
2. it's hard AF, and well worth it (see #1 above)

My products were electro-mechanic products with some (not much) off-the-shelf electronic components. In broad strokes this is the process that I followed:

1. Paper sketches. Call me old-fashioned but I like the analog feel of paper sketches. I make hundreds of paper sketches.
2. The ones that I consider worth it, go right away into 3D prototype, nothing fancy, use paper, cardboard, tape, whatever objects you have around. Google / Research "IDEO design method" and similar, back in the days I took the IDEO course on product design, not sure if they still offer it. But it's pretty well documented on YouTube. I have read all the books on IDEO and their process, and I have their "Deck of cards" which I think it's discontinued now
3. Better prototype. I used to live in a large house in the suburbs, and 1/2 of my basement was a shop, wood shop and some other tools; I acquired them through the years for cheap at closeouts, CL etc.... I must have spent about 2K, it was not sophisticated at all, but it did the job.
4. Iterate till you have a working model that satisfies you. It's a lot of work but it's FUN.
5. Once you have something that satisfied you, you COULD stop here. What you have in your hand is a one of a kind crafted piece, almost a piece of Art. Some people/businesses continue this way, producing limited quantities, one at a time.
6. If you want to mass-produce it, continue to the next step.
7. Industrialization: this is when the product is re-designed in order to be manufactured. I'm not going to lie to you, this is HARD AF. You need to educate yourself on materials and manufacturing processes.
   Materials: there are some "material libraries" out there, they cost some money, from expensive to cheap; some material suppliers will send you samples, some free (you pay the shipping) some charge you. Manufacturing: buy this book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759/ and study it
8. I learned Fusion 360 by AutoDesk in order to produce drawings
9. Chances are you will need different parts made from different materials from different processes. Chances are there is not 1 manufacturer that has all the machines/processes you could pick one manufacturer but they will outsource some of the parts to someone else (the lowest bidders) then overcharge you. So your best bet is to give to different manufacturers the different parts. This means that you will need to pick who will assemble your final product. I assembled 2 of my product lines, and outsourced 1 of them (too complex for me).
10. go to one of these shows https://www.d2p.com/ best if you can attend 2 or 3, they are regional
11. Packaging. Do not leave this as an afterthought, you do need to design this WITH the product. Think IKEA.
12. Branding. I strongly suggest you develop this along with the packaging and - of course - the product itself. Follow this https://www.packagingdigest.com/ it's a fascinating world.

Overwhelmed? You should be.

There are consultants who would take care of the whole process for you, but they are expensive.

There are also consultants who will take care of some of the processes (e.g.: industrialization), you figure it out along the way.

There are manufacturers who claim that they will do it for you, but.... they will build exactly what you will ask them, and they will use the cheapest materials and processes.... try using a MacBookPro and a cheap AF computer... do you feel and see the difference?

You need to be in control to get exactly what is in your mind.

YMMV

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I hear you and you have 3 related projects in front of you:

1. You need to industrialize your design. Tweak/change it to make it manufacturable (possible) and where the final product has the characteristics that you want.
2. Choose the materials. Do not rely on the manufacturer to pick the type and quality of materials. This is easier said than done, some industries have "Libraries of materials". Add to that fasteners/glues. Once you're advanced in step #1 and #3 give a call to 3M, they will give you free consulting.
3. Pick the manufacturer(s) and possibly the assembler. Depending on your design you might need different processes and some manufacturing do not have the equipment for all the processes; so you could leave it up to them to outsource the work that they cannot do (to the lowest bidder) or you could outsource different parts to different manufacturers (best of breed) and then figure out who will be doing the final assembly. If you can you might want to visit one of these shows https://www.d2p.com/

By the way, there's also the packaging, you can do a simple plastic envelope or... maybe something fancier. It's up to you.

And yes, there are consultants that do each one of the steps above, or all of them.

You might want to invest a few bucks in this book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759 and then a few days reading it / studying it.

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Hey there,

Here a few factors that you should consider as well - for your prototype and beyond.

Is it going to be a plastic product or metal? Both will require different cost models because of the way they are manufactured. Ex - plastic is usually injection-molded versus metal subtractive metals. This is a good book with different sorts of materials and the manufacturing process. https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=manufacturing&qid=1624844954&s=books&sr=1-6

What are you going to do for low volume or high volume production? If it's an MVP and wants to test out the market, you can probably find a few local manufacturers near your area to provide you with those services. Most manufactures have a minimum count.

Figure out which stage your prototype will be in - do you need to figure out the functionality or market fit or to get pre-orders. Each prototype stage requires different actions.

Now to answer your questions.

1-2) Many manufacturers can help you with the engineering aspects as well or have connections to local ones that you may speak to. So you can kill two birds with one stone. However, it also depends on your goal for the prototype - are you testing for functionality or market fit?

3) As @kabekew mentioned, you can google some manufacturers, which will be a good start. I personally recommend you choose a manufacture that you can visit - whether it's you flying to China for Alibaba or driving somewhere nearby. The cheaper the manufacturing, the more likely chance they will find workarounds to save more money for themselves (not you).

I like McMaster Carr for parts (US company) and they have bearings. https://www.mcmaster.com/Bearings/

Unfortunately "manufacturing" is highly segmented, and while there are prototype shops you need to know what process(es) you're going to use, then select the manufacturer who might also provide a prototype or refer you to a prototype shop (there are issues there too... but that's another story).

Of course you could do 3D printing for the prototype (or production too, depending on many factors).

You can educate yourself with this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it would be good for you to attend one of these shows: https://www.d2p.com/

> since I am not ready for the financial investment that comes along with injection molding.

When it will be time to do the production at scale, will you have the money?

> is a NDA for himself and the printing company to sign.

Chances are that they are not going to sign it, but try. And even if the sign it, show & tell the least possible.

> I was advised to forget about patenting the product for the time being...

As long as you know that once you put the product out there for sale (or for show), you can no longer seek a patent.

> As for the following step, I am unsure. Media marketing material (photos/videos)? Patent pending? Find a co-founder (solo project currently)? HELP!?

• Well, usually it takes a few prototypes to get to the final prototype
• if you take the advice from someone who has an plastic injection molding company they will steer you towards plastic injection molding
• Invest in this book https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759 and study it
• Invest in this book https://www.amazon.com/Patent-Yourself-Step-Step-Filing-ebook/dp/B07GDWCVDF and study it
• There's a process called "Industrialization", usually done by engineers, meaning to take an idea or an idea for a product or a prototype and tweak it in order to be manufactured with best practices
• see if you can find a friend, or a friend of a friend who is an Industrial Designer
• Read book by IDEO about their process(es)

I am sure there's more, but that's enough for now, especially since we have no idea what you're making.

• anything written by IDEO
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500513759/
• IDEO has interesting courses too

There are a number of questions you need to ask yourself when building a physical product. Here a few to start with

1) What materials do you want it to be made out of? There is a difference between the cost of injection molding (plastic) and die casting (stainless steel).

2) Do you just want to build a frame around an OEM part or design it from the ground up? You can use sites like Alibaba to buy existing parts and build a frame around that. For example, you can use this (http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/High-Quality-Stainless-Steel-Polished-Watch_60426012992.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.7fcp9a&s=p)

3) Can you afford it? Making the mold, manufacturing, regulations shipping, etc. Many people underestimate how much it will cost for manufacture. Making a plastic mold tool can run you $10,000 minimum and that is for a small part.

4) Do you want to outsource it? If it's made in China, you're most likely going to have to fly there and make sure the parts are made correctly. It will be cheaper though. If you want it to make in the United States, it's going cost you more.

3D printing can be good to in making prototypes and validate if people it in the first place.

Here are some good books basic books to learn about product design.

1) Manufacturing - https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Processes-Design-Professionals-Thompson/dp/0500513759/ref=sr_1_8/000-3022921-3912901?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468546649&sr=1-8

2) Prototyping - https://www.amazon.com/Prototyping-Modelmaking-Product-Design-Portfolio/dp/1856698769/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41vzIIrA8mL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR124%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=836FPVZDP54MFYMRXGD6

3) Materials -https://www.amazon.com/Materials-Design-Chris-Lefteri/dp/1780673442/ref=zg_bs_3564966011_53

An option is also to hire a design firm to help make the design possible for you to manufacture. However, you will still have to pay all the other costs.