Mechanical Engineering Perspectives, Part 2: Creative Design Tweaks to Manage Speed, Cost, & Function

Custom 304 stainless steel fasteners designed to capture fabric.

This article originally appeared in DesignNews on August 27, 2022.

This article shares examples and tips to help you think holistically about your materials selection from start to finish to ensure future success in developing your product.

Senior Mechanical Engineer Adam Smith is working with DesignNews to produce a six-part series titled “Mechanical Engineering Perspectives for Efficient, Integrated Commercial Product Design.”

When thinking about product design and development, it’s common to immediately focus on developing what we see and experience in a product. While UX and UI design are critical to product success, the less-visible mechanical engineering functions can be the workhorse driving innovation through to successful commercialization.

In this series, Adam shares insights and tips on how mechanical engineering supports the transformation of product ideas into reality by working in sync with all disciplines throughout development.

Here is an excerpt from part two:

Waiting for a more mature design before using production manufacturing methods can lead to costly design iterations impacting budget and schedule. Coupling the knowledge of available rapid manufacturing methods with creative “design for prototyping” adjustments can allow you to build earlier and more often. With the advent of higher-quality, lower-cost, easier-to-use, in-house manufacturing tools, making the prototype yourself may be the most efficient method.

Learn how you can think creatively about manufacturing your design using different prototype methods with tips and examples from Adam in the full article on DesignNews.

Didn’t catch part one? Learn how to optimize your material selection during a commercial product design project.