146: Transparency in the Design For Manufacturing Process

Michael Corr is the Co-Founder of Duro PLM, a product lifecycle management tool for centralizing the entire communication process of development to production. They have thousands of users improving their design for manufacturing process. Today Michael is going to share some valuable knowledge on how inventors, startups, and small manufacturers can understand what Design For Manufacturing is, what is required to fill the gap between product development and your first production run, and how to communicate effectively with all manufacturing stakeholders, especially on a first production run.

Today you will hear us talk about:

• What is DFM Design for Manufacturing
• How do you efficiently and effectively manufacture
• Hand-based manufacturing vs automatic manufacturing in PCB / electronics parts
• Design both for functionality AND for manufacturing
• Think about manufacturing at the early phases of development
• Increase the amount of DFM work as you get closer to production
• The further along the manufacturing process, the more it will cost to fix the problem.
• Each product has its own nuances and unique elements that should be ironed out
• Manufacturers have your best interest in mind, but they don’t know the product nearly as well as you do.
• Incorporate your manufacturers into your processes, especially as you get closer to manufacturing.
• Make sure that communication channels are into your manufacturing process.
• Be sure you have transparency and trust in the failures that are occurring in manufacturing.
• This can be done in a social contract, or a technical contract.
• Communication for DFM should be in real time, and also fully disclosed.

EPISODE LINKS

Michael Corr Links:

• Website: https://www.durolabs.co/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgcorr/

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

• Website: https://www.ProductStartup.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ProductStartup/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ProductStartup/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ProductStartup/
• Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProductStartup/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ProductStartup/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProductStartup
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent

Mako Design Links:

• Website: https://www.makodesign.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MakoInvent
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MakoInvent/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/MakoDesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakoInvent/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MakoInvent/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakoInvent/

Kevin Mako Links:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Entrepreneurs/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/KevMako/
• Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Kevin-Mako
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevMakoPage/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevMako/

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry’s leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about Mako Design + Invent!