NPDS believes a product concept should meet these vital points first, before the project goes in to the design phase:
- Product concept meets a market need.
- Product concept solves a problem.
- Product concept is commercially viable.
- Product concept is easily manufacturable at low cost.
- Product concept is potentially profitable.
After defining the product concept, the design process begins, then static or fully functional prototypes can be constructed, and product is readied to be manufactured, to be launched in to the marketplace.
When considering a new product idea with a great design, often times the thought that comes to many people is about aesthetics. We believe engineering, function, and form to be the primary design criteria, as aesthetics can always be designed around a solid stable product that functions as it is intended to.
To us, great design is a fusion of all these things. We design products that have an existing market for them, that look and feel right, meet all functional and fit requirements, operates with total reliability, and is delivered to the customer or market at the right price and in a timely fashion.
Being first to market is always important, and with great engineering, product reliability, and low manufacturing cost by design, this can assures a speedy market presence.
Our founder over the last 35 years development and manufacturing, has seen many concepts created by product developers, inventors and designers with little knowledge of manufacturing. As product developers, we see that often product designers can fail to consider manufacturability, a key ingredient to a great design. For us, ease of making the product, or if it even can be made at all, should always be a major factor.
Lack of manufacturability forethought during the design process can commonly create an impossible situation for manufacturing the product in a cost effective manner. This can be so severe in some cases that it can cause serious delays in a project, requiring a complete product redesign, possibly necessitating patent changes, and so on.
Our motto is to get the design right the first time, the key to this is choosing the right manufacturing processes and tooling strategy from the beginning, and incorporating that into the product's design intent. This can effect choice of product build materials, and can ultimately shape the design itself.
Manufacturability is first and foremost thought in our minds from the very start, as this effects product price point and market competitiveness, from manufacturing costs and throughout the distribution and retail channels.
