Keeping manufacturing costs within an acceptable range for low-volume products that have intricate parts and features is possible with better technology practices. When injection molding isn’t a viable option for your budget, thermoforming and precision machining can yield better results without pricing your product out of the market.
By designing for manufacturability early in the process, you can avoid memorializing features that become too complex and balloon the cost of your product.
We partner with product engineers to find an optimized manufacturing process with thermoforming and precise machining even when there isn’t a formal design.
When you focus only on the functional elements of a device, there’s a risk that the cost to manufacture it becomes prohibitively expensive. The cosmetic design and manufacturability of each part require due consideration early in the design process. Although the engineering dynamics of the machine remain a priority, you’ll still need to allocate time and resources to ensure the cosmetic elements, finishes, and frames of the final product are achievable at an optimized price point.
If you only consider manufacturability at the end of the product’s design lifecycle, you may find out that producing some parts becomes too expensive to make it viable. Thinking strategically about the attachment points, molded features, and frame construction earlier in the process allows us to make simpler panels that fit within the constraints of the structural supports required in the functional design.
Not taking this approach may lead to:
Each of these items will increase a low-volume product’s manufacturing cost exponentially. Kenson Plastics will guide you through different approaches and designs to avoid these common pitfalls early in the project.
Our engineers and tool designers will work with your product team to identify issues early. We can recommend small changes that make a major difference to the product’s overall cost to keep the project profitable. At Kenson, we can assist with any size product that requires an optimized, low-volume manufacturing process.
To discuss your product’s design and reduce manufacturing costs early on a project, get in touch with Kenson Plastics today.