QualityInspection.org

Quality Assurance, Product Development, and Purchasing Strategies in China

Getting To Grips With Non-Recurring Engineering Costs (NRE) [Podcast]

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss Non-Recurring Engineering costs for manufacturers. As the name suggests, these costs are usually one-off and are what it takes to get your product into production. These costs are perhaps better known as R&D costs, and it's important to get to grips with them as they have a great impact on your product's sale price, as well as the feasibility of manufacturing it in the first place. It's fair to say that the NRE costs often turn out to be more … [Read more...]

Why Pilot Runs Are So Important [Podcast]

Pilot runs aren't just a 'good idea,' they're a must when manufacturing new products as you are about to find out... Renaud and Adrian from the team explore an important part of the new product launch process: pilot runs. In this episode, they'll be exploring the following questions: What is a pilot run, why is it so important when bringing new products to market, and what are the benefits we can expect when performing them before going into full production? After listening you will see … [Read more...]

The Design for X Approach: 12 Common Examples

The Design For X (or “Design for Excellence”) methodology lays out a number of design guidelines for reaching the product’s objectives. The idea is to review and improve the product & process design before the new product is manufactured. Many product designers design for functionality and for aesthetics. Of course, those are important, but there are other important questions such as “can it be made with mature processes?” and “can it be made within budget?” (a.k.a. Design for … [Read more...]

How A DFQ Review Designs Quality INTO Your Product At An Early Stage [Podcast]

What if you could reduce the chances of quality problems long before your product goes into production? A DFQ review can help you achieve this! What is DFQ? Design For Quality is where we review a number of factors that affect quality at the early stages of the new product introduction process, so that's your concept and prototypes. Not every Chinese manufacturer will do this, and while it may be tempting to power through to production to get to market, it's risky to do so (could your … [Read more...]

Design New Products with ‘Right To Repair’ in Mind

There is a long-term trend that companies and people designing new products need to have in mind: A growing share of consumers expect brands to design more sustainable (or fewer unsustainable) products; In some regions of the World, regulators are also pushing companies in that direction.   EU legislation driving changes to consumer products The latest sign comes from the EU. This new legislation is going to require consumer technology to last for a decade. The European … [Read more...]

A Textbook on Design for Manufacturing and the NPI Process (EVT-DVT-PVT)

I am halfway through this book and I thought many readers would enjoy it: Product Realization: Going from One to a Million by Anna C. Thornton. Here is the book's presentation by its publisher: Product Realization: Going from One to a Million delivers a comprehensive treatment of the entire product launch process from beginning to end. Drawing upon the author's extensive first-hand experience with dozens of successful product launches, the book explores the process of bringing a design from … [Read more...]

Good Project Management With Chinese Suppliers From A Product Designer’s Perspective [Podcast]

Let's hear from an experienced product designer about project management with Chinese suppliers... In this episode, we catch up with Andy Bartlett, a friend of Sofeast, who is an enormously experienced product designer from the UK, to discuss his project management best practices and observations from his 'designer's' perspective for when developing a new product and manufacturing it in China. If you're developing a new product and have Chinese suppliers, you'll love this episode. Andy … [Read more...]

New Physical Products: Patents Should Come After Market Success

We talk to a startup company developing a new physical (hardware) product at least once a week, and I'd estimate that about 25% of them try hard to secure a patent. I get it. They are afraid of being copied. They know investors and customers will like it. It looks like a wise investment. And, of course, not many lawyers will discourage a patent application, which is -- for good reason -- in their list of the best ways to protect a new product's intellectual property. However, here is … [Read more...]

Prototesting: Reap All the Value of Proof of Concept Prototypes

Many of our clients design their own products. And we typically don't get involved in the initial concept/ideation phase. That's clearly not our competence, nor our offer. However, we are often invited to ask questions about their new product idea, to test if their concept is manufacturable, to confirm it won't be extremely hard to develop, etc. And we see the same patterns, over and over. Many people don't talk a lot to potential users/customers when planning for the features. They don't … [Read more...]

Choosing the right Battery for your New Electronic Product [Long Guide]

A question many of our clients have asked us is, 'What type of battery should we use in our new electronic product?" And, in some cases, the answer is not obvious for buyers who struggle with choosing the right battery. The number and variety of cheap sensors available are now staggering. And keeping a physical object connected to the internet, or to a mobile phone's app, has gotten easier over the past 10 years. That has sparked the explosion of IoT devices. Those "smart" and "connected" … [Read more...]