Do Process Development Once: Why Product and Process Development Should Work in Tandem
When it comes to Product Development, the conventional wisdom holds that you start small, develop a proof of concept, then figure out how to scale production. This may be how it’s always been done, but that doesn’t mean it’s the fastest way, or the least risky. Especially when there’s a better alternative.
In Delta ModTech’s Process Development Once approach, Product and Process Development occur in tandem. The question isn’t just, “Will it work?” It’s also, “Will it scale?” By answering both questions early in the development phase, companies can reduce the time from proof of concept to product launch.
Under this approach, risk is significantly mitigated, instead of compounded through two Process Development cycles. And the best part? Delta’s process doesn’t require you to even own a machine, a prospect that should intrigue Product Development and delight the finance team. So let’s dig into how it works.
The Typical Sequence: Product to Prototype to Process to Process Again
Product Development and Process Development are solving two different engineering problems.
- Product Development is focused on creating the right product for the customer.
- Process Development is focused on creating the right manufacturing process for that product.
Neither is more important than the other. But when they happen sequentially instead of concurrently, opportunities are lost. Consider the typical product rollout scenario.
Product Development: Customer research unveils a need in the marketplace, and the R&D team begins work on a new product idea. With the hopes that the total addressable market needs what you’re selling, the lab produces the new product ideas.
Prototype: Once preliminary ideas are assembled, it’s time to put your Frankenstein together, and see if you can bring it to life. This is where the inventor’s obsession takes hold, and the team works with passion for that eureka moment.
Process Development Part 1: If your Frankenstein prototype works, now it’s time to see if you can actually manufacture it. Scaling isn’t the focus here. It’s just figuring out an actual process, which is usually a manual one with a sprinkle of automation.
Process Development Part 2: If that initial process works, you’re only partway home. Now you have to figure out how to scale the manufacturing. What can you automate? How can you reduce your scrap rates and speed your line? Typically, the manufacturing equipment companies enter the picture at this point. Their team of engineers put their heads together with the OEM’s product and process engineers to figure out how to use the equipment to manufacture the product.
With each stage, risk of failure compounds, as more time and resources are required for each milestone. Failure at the final stage results in the biggest heartbreak: If your product won’t scale, then you’ve just invested significant engineering time and company resources, with nothing to show in the end.
“Doing your initial design for high-volume manufacture can help significantly with decreasing overall timeline and duplicating efforts.”
Ben Tremblay, Market Segment Specialist, Delta ModTech
The New Approach: Design for Manufacturing from the Start
The idea of introducing Process Development early in the process doesn’t come naturally to most companies. The main focus is creating a product that functions as needed, not to Design for Manufacturing.
“I don’t want to say it’s an afterthought, but it’s definitely secondary on their list,” Tremblay said. “Their first thought is how to make one, five or 10 of these products to show proof of concept can be done at all.”
The danger is that when the focus turns from product to Process Development, opportunities to improve manufacturability may be limited. Tremblay has scenarios where Product Development is so far down the line that it’s difficult to develop a process without it becoming cost-prohibitive or flat-out impossible to scale.
“R&D teams do a tremendous job. We just have to make sure that it’s not in a vacuum.“
Ben Tremblay, Market Segment Specialist, Delta ModTech
When both of these functions occur on their own, you also have handoffs between teams and individuals. With each of those handoffs, there’s always an opportunity for fumbles. Information isn’t communicated clearly, data gets lost, lessons need to be re-learned.
It’s why Delta advocates for Product Development and Process Development occurring concurrently. Product Development remains focused on the customer and product performance, while Process Development focuses on manufacturability, scalability and the production process. The two disciplines continually inform one another.
The goal is that you’re designing for high-volume scale while you’re doing low-volume R&D. “That’s what we’ve seen yields the quickest timelines to a finished solution,” Tremblay said.
Under the traditional approach, you’re not going to make a million parts while conducting R&D. But when you’re doing the two approaches in tandem, your process for making the first hundred parts is going to be, if not exactly the same, then very similar to the one used in making one million parts.
Process Development will be a little extra work up front, but you’re not duplicating efforts.
Process Development Can Occur with (and Without) a Machine
But doesn’t a million-part approach require the use of a machine capable of producing a million parts?
It’s a typical reaction from someone who is making an assumption based on a manual approach. Using the multi-laminate part as an example, you may be able to integrate modular components into one machine with a small footprint.
“That’s the difference in a manual or semi-automated batch-processing approach, which generally requires a large footprint, compared to a high-volume solution, which actually can be quite compact,” Tremblay said.
Delta relies both on experience and in-house equipment to help mitigate risk in this area, as it can structure a pricing approach so that the Process Development uses Delta equipment to deliver the proof of concept.
“We can say that the first thing we’re going to do is a proof of principle on the high risk area(s), and we’ll tie in the development to make sure that the customer is confident,” Tremblay said. The approach works both ways, as it also prevents Delta from biting off more than they can chew. He notes that they won’t even go down this road unless they’re confident that they can answer the challenge.
Often, no machine is even required, as Delta’s process engineers have experienced similar scenarios in the past, and simply can serve as a resource for your R&D team.
“We do quite a bit of this type of testing with our customers, especially on the medical side, where the risk profile is much more conservative than some of the other markets we’re in,” he said.
Tremblay notes this type of work is typically integrated into the purchase order, and done early in the build process. Other options are also available for proof of concept trials.
Reduce Risk and Multiply the Payback with a Process Development Once Mindset
Let’s apply the concept to the some of the biggest areas of manufacturing, and see how it pays off:
You get a scalable proof-of-concept: No one’s in this game just to build a successful prototype. It’s all about whether it will scale, so why not make “scalable” a mandatory addition to POC?
You save time: While there may be more upfront work with Product and Process Development being done in tandem, the fact that Process Development occurs once can dramatically reduce time to market.
You reduce material waste: You’re saving time with personnel, but you’re also using fewer materials. When those Process Development experiments are duplicated, that means more expensive materials are wasted.
You avoid mistakes later in the game: Potential manufacturing issues surface while changes are still relatively easy and inexpensive to make, instead of after months of engineering work have already been invested.
You make better capital decisions: The best machine is the one built around a proven process, not assumptions. Understand your manufacturing requirements early and smarter CapX decisions will follow.
You make it easier for management: A clearer picture of production costs, throughput, material usage, and timeline allows management to make investment decisions with greater confidence.
The Approach Requires More than Just a Mindset and a Machine
All this sounds like a great plan, but before you take it to just any old equipment manufacturer, consider one element we didn’t mention earlier.
It’s the right people. And not your own Product and Process Development people.
It’s the people who understand both Process Development and the machine.
Because your internal Process Development team might be steeped in Design for Manufacturing expertise, but they don’t know the ins and outs of the manufacturing equipment.
That’s why Delta does more than just make machines. We provide a team of process and applications engineers who are both experts in converting and the manufacturing processes that make it possible.
With decades of tribal experience at our fingertips, we can connect the dots between conceptual design and real-world execution. And we also know how to help you continuously improve, even after that successful first run.
We didn’t develop this team and the Process Development Once process in a vacuum. We’ve developed it, side-by-side, with customers and vendors. Because nothing scales like people who work together.
Common Questions About Process Development Once
What is Process Development Once?
Process Development Once is Delta ModTech’s approach to developing a product and its manufacturing process at the same time. Instead of proving a product works in the lab and then creating an entirely new manufacturing process later, Product Development and Process Development occur concurrently. This allows manufacturing challenges to be identified while the product is still flexible, reducing duplicated engineering work, shortening the path to production and improving confidence that the product can be manufactured at scale.
What’s the difference between Product Development and Process Development?
Product Development focuses on creating the right product for the customer. Process Development focuses on creating the right manufacturing process for that product. These are complementary engineering disciplines. When they occur concurrently instead of sequentially, they continually inform one another, helping companies develop products that not only work—but can also be manufactured efficiently at scale.
What is Design for Manufacturing (DFM)?
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is an engineering approach that considers how a product will be manufactured while it is still being designed. This often reduces manufacturing complexity, improves product quality and minimizes costly design changes later. Delta’s Process Development Once methodology applies Design for Manufacturing principles by developing the product and production process together.
Why do companies end up developing the manufacturing process twice?
Many companies first develop a product using manual or semi-automated methods to prove it works. Once the prototype is approved, they begin developing a completely different process capable of producing thousands or millions of parts. Because the original process rarely transfers directly to high-volume manufacturing, engineering teams must repeat many of the same experiments using production equipment. Process Development Once avoids this duplication by developing a scalable manufacturing process from the beginning.
Why isn’t a successful prototype enough?
A successful prototype proves that a product works. It doesn’t necessarily prove that the product can be manufactured consistently, economically or at production volumes. A scalable proof of concept answers both questions: Does the product work? and Can it be manufactured at scale?
When should an equipment supplier become involved in Product Development?
The best time to involve an equipment supplier is during Product Development, before the product design is finalized. Early involvement allows process engineers to identify manufacturability challenges, evaluate materials, recommend realistic tolerances and perform proof-of-concept testing while changes are still relatively easy to make. Waiting until production equipment is being specified often limits design options and can lead to duplicated engineering work.
How does Process Development Once reduce time to market?
Process Development Once may require more collaboration early in a project, but it often shortens the overall development timeline by eliminating duplicate Process Development. Instead of proving a product manually and then redesigning the manufacturing process for production, Product Development and Process Development advance together. Manufacturing questions are answered earlier, reducing redesigns, repeated testing and delays during scale-up.
How does Process Development Once reduce project risk?
Every new product carries technical and manufacturing risk. The question is when those risks are discovered. Process Development Once shifts many manufacturing questions to the beginning of the project, when design changes are less expensive and easier to implement. By identifying manufacturability challenges early, companies can make more informed product, process and equipment decisions before committing significant time and capital.
What is a scalable proof of concept?
A scalable proof of concept demonstrates more than product functionality. It also shows that the product can move toward high-volume manufacturing using a production-representative process. Rather than asking only “Does it work?” a scalable proof of concept asks “Will it scale?” This gives engineering teams greater confidence that successful prototypes can become successful production programs.
Does Process Development Once require buying a production machine?
No. Process Development Once is a methodology, not an equipment purchase strategy. In many cases, Delta conducts proof-of-concept testing using existing equipment or provides process guidance based on previous applications. The objective is to validate the highest-risk portions of the manufacturing process before investing in a complete production system.
Why do manufacturing tolerances have such a large impact on equipment cost?
Small changes in required tolerances can significantly change how a product is manufactured. Extremely tight tolerances may require more sophisticated registration systems, robotic placement, additional inspection or slower production speeds. Evaluating which dimensions are truly critical to product quality can have profound cost implications.
How can early Process Development improve equipment decisions?
The best manufacturing equipment is designed around a proven process, not assumptions. By understanding the product’s true critical-to-quality requirements early, companies can specify equipment with greater confidence. This often results in more appropriate automation, fewer design changes and better long-term production performance.
How does Delta help Product Development teams?
Delta supports Product Development by bringing together process engineering expertise with a deep understanding of converting equipment and its capabilities. They understand what can, and can’t, be accomplished on production equipment, allowing Product Development and Process Development to evolve together toward a scalable manufacturing solution.
