A $12,950 mistake you can avoid

Every inventor strives for bringing their unique idea to the market in a fastest way possible. They would use some of the effective steps and skip other important ones, like invention prototyping. But, our experience as a prototyping company and inventors has proven time and time again that the methodical approach to product development is the most efficient way to go.

Over the years we’ve seen many inventions that didn’t follow all the steps of the process. And that resulted in an unnecessarily high price on the production tag for the entrepreneur. Like you, and many other inventors, we always aim at reducing the cost of product development and manufacturing. We have identified that you can cut the production costs dramatically during the invention prototyping stage.

That is why, we want to share our take on it. We’ll go into the ways of how we can help you avoid and eliminate these extra expenditures applying our first-hand experience in the process of your invention prototyping. One of our inventions will serve as an example. With it, you can have a clear picture of the practical steps our prototyping company took on the journey to deliver our final product with lower cost than originally intended.

But first, let us introduce you to the approach we follow which makes us unique as a prototyping company.

Reducing Cost Price with Prototype Development

Our team regards prototyping as the most important step for reducing production costs of any invention. Indeed, it is very useful for user experience and functionality testing. But it also has a priceless ability (or, should we say, price cutting ability) of showing you exact and particular areas for iterations and opportunities for improvement during the process of invention prototyping. Unlike 3D models, prototypes provide you with tangible characteristics and points to where you should consider applying changes.

When you assemble your product, you can see which part of assembly is more time consuming. Also, which part has more chances to have defects, or requires more material, therefore more resources, for putting it together. That way, it is showing where you can simplify and improve the design which, in turn, helps you cut costs you would have otherwise.

Having said that, let’s look at the product we are going to use to show you how to save costs.

UP dock

The LA NPDT team faced a daily difficulty of uncharged devices, misplaced items, and the workflow challenges that came with that. Sounds familiar? Well, based on our endless conversations with people like us, we found that there are at least three items used during the workday – smartpens, styluses, and remotes. As we know, these gadgets are vertical, creating quite a mess when charged horizontally with all the cords mixed up. When we searched the market for the product that would charge many devices at once without taking too much space, and would preferably have one cord, there was none available.

So, we took the problem into our own hands and designed an original solution. Our solution fits every office, living room, or work-from-home space. The UP Dock is a charging station with three outlet micro-USB ports made for every type of upright micro-USB device. These devices include pointers, vape pens, electric screwdrivers, etc., and it comes with a standard USB (Type-A) cable. You can plug it to any wall outlet or into your computer to transmit data while charging. It takes minimum space due to its well-thought design, keeps your workplace neat and organized. Its sophisticated, sleek, and minimalistic presentation adds a professional tone to any environment.

From that description it’s clear that this product has many parts to its efficiency and convenience. They include built-in power surge protection and rigid construction with balanced weight distribution designed for great stability, even with plugged-in heavy gadgets.

Now, let’s get practical and see what our prototyping company has faced along the process and how we managed to deliver Up Dock with cost efficient results.

Invention Prototyping

When our team made the 14th prototype of the Up Dock, we decided to move to the manufacturing stage and start selling the product. We received the production quote which amounted to $28.00 per unit. That was considered quite high. At this point we knew that there were other creative ways to cut the costs. So, we started exploring different possibilities for reducing them.

These words, once said by the psychologist and a great inventor, reflect our approach to product development. We applied his concept specifically with regard to invention prototyping. We took a little more time to simplify and improve the design, which ultimately saved us money.

Moreover, every time we had an improved version of the product in our hands, we were able to play with new ideas and solutions, and refine it even further.

This is what we did in the following couple of weeks.

First of all, we looked at the main feature of the Up Dock – micro-USB hubs. It has three ports on a single station. And at that time they cost us $1.56 each. We were able to negotiate a deal with another manufacturer of these hubs. It provided us with high quality ports for $1.00 a piece by increasing the quantity up to 1000 pcs.

Next step was to look at the design itself, and housing in particular. We made many prototypes and put them together ourselves.  Which means we had the opportunity to observe the process of assembly from different angles. The engineers identified the most time consuming areas of the build-up work, and the parts that were creating the issue.

They found a way to simplify casing design by joining previously separate parts – sides and the bottom cover – into one peace. That iteration allowed for a different manufacturing method, therefore reducing costs previously required for it. 

Furthermore, they optimized the inner cavity by attaching the board to the top cover. Now the bottom one serves as a clip-on cap, which makes the assembly much simpler and faster.

Initially, we wanted to use anodized finishing for the side plates of the device. But anodizing is not cheap. So, our Industrial Engineer took a different approach and considered using oil painting instead. After paint durability and resistance testing showed great results, we knew this was the way to go. Not only because it was less expensive. The orange paint added that special contrast, color, and style to the device, matching our brand identity, which anodizing couldn’t deliver.

Changing the way these side plates are attached to housing, we again made the assembly easier.We went from pinning them into the sides to gluing, which keeps the plates firmly on their place.   

And only after all these changes were applied throughout the invention prototyping stage, we got to manufacturing.

Now, let’s review our results!

Diligent work and creative thinking of our team, together with gradual iterations to the design saved us $12.950 under two weeks!

The final product resulted in $17.00 per unit (with all works considered), instead of the initial $28.00. Now, there is one of a kind charging station on the market that millions of people can use and appreciate.

Being a prototyping company, we value the importance and practical application of taking some extra time during the invention prototyping stage. That way we deliver your cost effective and high quality product. Given that this is a prototype objective, learn more about its types and goals in our blog article “Why you need to make a prototype”.

And being inventors, we understand the drive to share your idea with the world in the shortest time possible. From experience we know that a rush to manufacture may cost you more than those additional 10-14 days would.

There are always plenty of out-of-the-box solutions to further reduce the cost price of your product. They are literally at your fingertips. It’s because each prototype is your new invention, as Joseph Jastrow brilliantly put in his quote. The time invested perfecting it, will help you save your 12.950 dollars.