The Product Design Expert

January 22, 2016 by The Product Design Expert

Design Drawings for Production and Manufacturing – STEP or IGS File Format

Many manufacturers will request a STP / STEP or IGS / IGES file design drawings for designing molds or for pricing manufactured parts for production of your invention or product.

“Manufacturing Design Drawings”

IGES design file for manufacturer — IGES Design File for Manufacturing

Products for manufacture should be designed as a full three-dimensional model with associated drawing views and dimensions using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system. The IGES and STEP product design file format serves as a neutral data format to transfer the design to a dissimilar system. Translators, developed to the IGES and STEP Standard, are used to export a design into an IGES or STEP file for exchange and for importing the IGES or STEP file into the destination system.

IGES or IGS files stands for Initial Graphics Exchange Specification and is a file format which defines a vendor neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of information among Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems.

STEP file for manufacturing — STEP Design File for Manufacturing

STEP or STP files stands for Standard for the Exchange of Product Data. This ISO standard exchange format is used to distribute 3D data files (such as CAD files) in a format that can be viewed by a variety of software applications.
The .step file extension is interchangeable with the .stp file extension.
The .step file extension is also used for PyDDR files.
STP files can be opened by CATIA (Computer Aided Three Dimensional Interactive Application), a commercial CAD software suite created by Dassault Systemes and marketed by IBM.

Please keep in mind that the product design file formats stated above are usually the most popular and will work for almost all product design requirements but there are exceptions. Always check with a product design professional in regards to your specific product design project.

A message from the president and owner of the company:

I’m here to assist inventors, companies and organizations with their Product Design file format needs. I will supply you with expert manufacturing design drawings service and solutions.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Anthony
We Design Products for Manufacturing

January 19, 2016 by The Product Design Expert

What is Product Development?

Developing and launching a product can often make or break a business, especially a startup business or individual inventor. The product development steps may vary based on the nature of the business or inventor’s management style, but most will eventually follow or fall within the twelve product development process steps below:
Product Development for inventors
1) Your Product Idea

2) Product Idea Research and Evaluation Against Similar Competition and Ideas

3) File a Patent

4) Possibility of Licensing
If you decide not to license keep following the below list.
(keep in mind you may license an idea or product at any point in this process)

5) Potential Market Evaluation

6) Product Design and Analysis

7) Prototype Building, Testing and Perfecting

8) Consumer Product Testing, Proofing and Customer Feedback

9) Marketing Strategy

10) Prepare for Product Launch

11) Product Marketing

12) Sales and Distribution

A message from the president and owner of the company:

I’m here to assist inventors, companies and organizations with their Prototyping needs. I will supply you with expert prototyping service and solutions.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Anthony
We Build Prototypes

January 19, 2016 by The Product Design Expert

Why Product Design ?

Many manufacturers and 3d printers will request a STP, STEP or IGS, IGES or STL file product design drawings for designing molds or for pricing manufactured parts for production of your invention or product or to build a 3d print prototype.

IGES or IGS Files (design file format used in the manufacturing production process) stands for Initial Graphics Exchange Specification and is a file format which defines a vendor neutral data format that allows the digital exchange of information among Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems. Once a user has created a model file in one specific software to send it to another user who does not have that same program without any concern whether or not the recipient will have the ability to open or view the file.

STEP or STP Files (design file format used in the manufacturing production process) is a file extension for a 3-D graphic file used by CAD software. STP stands for STandard for the Exchange of Product model data. STP files are used to store 3D image data in an ASCII format, following the standards defined in ISO 10303-21 : Clear Text Encoding of the Exchange Structure.

STL Files / Stereolithography – Standard Tessellation Language (design file format used in 3d printing product parts and prototypes) is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. STL is also known as Standard Tessellation Language. This file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for rapid prototyping and computer-aided manufacturing (additive manufacturing or 3D printing).

A message from the president and owner of the company:

I’m here to assist inventors, companies and organizations with their Prototyping needs. I will supply you with expert product design services and solutions.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Anthony
We Design Products and Inventions

January 14, 2016 by The Product Design Expert

Why a Prototype?

The benefits and why you should have a prototype:
1) Fast and effective communication of design ideas.
2) Effective validation of design fit, form, and function.
3) Greater design flexibility
4) The ability to run quickly through multiple design concepts and corrections.
5) Fewer production design flaws and better end-products.
Prototype Help
What is a Prototype; a first model or sample of a product from which more copies are developed and improved upon. Prototypes are usually built as models to test a product concept or process or to act as an example to be replicated or learned from.

Types of Prototypes;

Functional Prototype or Working Prototype;(also called functioning prototype) will, to the greatest extent relay the practical attempt to simulate the final design, aesthetics, materials and functionality of the intended design. The functional prototype may be reduced in size (scaled down) in order to reduce costs. The construction of a fully working full-scale prototype is the ultimate test of concept stage and is usually the final check for design flaws and allows last-minute improvements to be made before short-run, large or mass production runs are ordered.

Proof-of-Principle Prototype is a concept prototype used to test some aspect of the intended design without attempting to exactly simulate the visual appearance, choice of materials or intended manufacturing process. Such prototypes can be used to “prove” out a potential design approach such as range of motion, mechanics, sensors, architecture, etc. These types of models are often used to identify which design options will or will not work.

Form Study Prototype is a type of prototype will allow designers to explore the basic size, look and feel of a product without simulating the actual function or exact visual appearance of the product. They can help assess ergonomic factors and provide insight into visual aspects of the product’s final form. Form Study Prototypes do not usually represent the intended color, finish, or texture. Due to the materials used, these models are intended for internal decision making and are generally not durable enough or suitable for use for consumer testing.

User Experience Prototype invites active human interaction and is primarily used to support user focused research. While intentionally not addressing possible aesthetic treatments, this type of model does more accurately represent the overall size, proportions, interfaces, and articulation of a promising product concept. This type of model allows early assessment of how a potential user interacts with various elements, motions, and actions of a concept which define the initial use scenario and overall user experience.

Visual Prototype will capture the intended design aesthetic and simulate the appearance and sometimes color and surface textures of the intended product but will not actually embody the function of the final product. These models may be suitable for use in market research, executive reviews and approval, packaging mock-ups and photo shoots for sales literature.

A message from the president and owner of the company:

I’m here to assist inventors, companies and organizations with their Prototyping needs. I will supply you with expert prototyping service and solutions.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Anthony
We Build Prototypes