1.
November 17, 2022
From Idea to Product:
Best Practices to get your product Manufactured
Nick Wilkes
Account Executive, Eastern Washington

2.
ABOUT IMPACT WASHINGTON
A RESOURCE HUB FOR MANUFACTURERS
Impact Washington is a non-profit, impact-driven organization.
Mission to make small manufacturers globally competitive.
Consulting, Training, and Implementation of best practices.
The NIST MEP National Network
OUR IMPACTS ARE REPORTED BY OUR CLIENTS

3.
IMPACT WASHINGTON FOCUS AREAS
• Leadership Development
• Succession Planning
• Change Management
• Safety
• Training Within Industry (TWI)
• Strategic Planning
• Automation/Industry 4.0
• Supply Chain
• Sales & Marketing
• New Product Introduction (NPI)
• Lean Transformation
• Value Stream Mapping
• Quality Systems/ISO Compliance
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Cybersecurity
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS
GROWTH & INNOVATION
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
A systematic approach to maximize employee engagement, satisfaction, retention, and productivity.
Tools and Methods to Effectively Develop New Products, Markets, Services, and Customers
Continuous Improvement Tools and Methods to Transform Your Organization One Step at a Time

4.
Nick Wilkes
Account Executive, Eastern WA
6 years in Aerospace Mfg
• Operations Management
• Lean Manufacturing
• Program Management
2 years in Technology Transfer
• Licensing & BD Manager
• Physical Sciences & Engineering
3 years as Business Advisor for Manufacturers

5.
LET’S TALK ABOUT
 Voice of the Customer
 Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
 Building your Supply Chain
 Resources to get started
 Q&A

6.
WHERE ARE YOU TODAY?

7.
WHY DFM MATTERS…
“70% of Manufacturing Costs are derived
from Design decisions”
https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/shc17/DesignI/Dieter&Schmidt_Ch16_scan.pdf
Of TOTAL COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)… ~72% are Manufacturing Costs
0.72 x 0.70 = 0.50
50% of your TOTAL COSTS are LOCKED at Transfer to Manufacturing

8.
DFM: Cost of a Design Change
IMAGE: Pradel, Patrick & Campbell, R.I. & Bibb, Richard. (2019). When Design Never Ends - A Future Scenario for Product
Development. Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design. 1. 829-838.
10.1017/dsi.2019.87.
EASY CHANGES!
VERY
EXPENSIVE
CHANGES
ITERATE
10x 100x 1000x
1x

9.
DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY (DFM)
Definition:
Proactively designing products to optimize manufacturing ease and cost given
form, fit, and function requirements.
Goal: Reduce Material, Labor, and Overhead Costs
DFM Optimizes: Procurement, Fab, Assembly, Test, Shipping, Service, & Repair
DFM assures:
 Time to Market
 Cost
 Quality
 Reliability
 Customer Satisfaction

10.
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER – We could, But should we?

11.
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
 Sometimes, as innovators, we
can…fall in love
 It can do this, this, & this!  Does the
customer care?
 Why get Voice of the Customer?
 Problem Validation is key
 Prioritizes your Product Development
activities
 It makes your product Sticky, drives
customer loyalty
 The easiest way to avoid R&D cost:
DON’T DEVELOP IT!
Lean Canvas – the first step

12.
DFM: Is Everyone’s Job
 Cross Functional: Marketing, Sales, Engineering, Quality, Suppliers
 EX: What Marketing hears as PAIN POINT  Engineering may see as OBSTACLE
 This includes your (potential) Manufacturer

13.
DFM: Principles Overview
 Start with the end in mind (manufacturing method)
 Reduce Total # of Parts
 Use Standard Materials & Components
 Loose dimensional tolerances
 Minimize Handling & Assembly Direction
 Mistake Proof Assembly
COMPLEXITY = TIME, TIME = MONEY

14.
DFM: Principles
 Start with the end in mind:
 CNC Machining
 Injection Molding
 Sheet Metal Fabrication
 Laser Jet / Water Jet Cutting
 Casting
 Collaborate with manufacturer
MOTIVATION: Increase supply chain options

15.
DFM: Principles
 Reduce Total # of Parts, Part Types
MOTIVATION: Reduce procurement cost, labor, defects
Complexity = Time, Time = Money

16.
DFM: Principles
 Use Standard Materials & Components, when possible
MOTIVATION: Lower Cost, Reduce Complexity of Supply Chain

17.
DFM: Principles
 Loose dimensional tolerances
MOTIVATION: Lower cost, increase supplier choices

18.
DFM: Principles
 Minimize Handling & Assembly Challenges
MOTIVATION: Lower cost, Reduce defects
Restricted access
Easier for assembler, no rotation required

19.
DFM: Principles
 Mistake Proof Your Assembly (Poka Yoka)
Perfect Symmetry prevents error Exaggerated Asymmetry prevents error
MOTIVATION: Lower labor cost, reduced defects

20.
DFM: Principles
 Modular Design
MOTIVATION: Quality at the Source, Assembly easy, NPD easy

21.
BUILDING YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
 Get Strategic w/ Manufacturing Partners
 (Some) Contract Manufacturers will help with DFM & Prototyping
 Build the relationship
 Seek DFM Input early
 Prototype / Pilot Run / Production Rate
 Method of manufacture (can) change. Plan for this. Ideally, find a partner that can do all.
 Volume Cures a lot of concerns
 Increased interest from manufacturing partners
 Costs closely linked with volume
 Amortize NRE (Non-Recurring Engineering) costs over Time & Volume

22.
QUOTE FROM LOCAL CONTRACT MANUFACTURER
“Approach us an have an OPEN and HONEST conversation about your Product Maturity,
Market Positioning, Funding, and Commercialization Path”
“We know it is very hard to predict future volume, and that often things fall through”
“There are 2 ways you can approach it”
1) Cash for the NRE Costs.(Non-Recurring Engineering)
2) Treat us like an Investor. We want to understand your business and the ROI of our
investment in Engineering and Design work.

23.
RESOURCES
 Local – Design, Product Dev, Prototyping, 3D Printing
 Impact Washington – NPD Consulting
 WSU Spokane – Biomedical Engineering & Design Center
 TechHelp Idaho MEP – New Product Development Lab
 Johnston Engineering
 Infinitex
 Washington Manufacturers Map – Tableau Link
 Impact Washington can connect you to:
 Manufacturers
 Product Development Expertise

24.
THANK YOU!
Please connect with me:
Nick Wilkes
E-mail: nwilkes@impactwashington.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-wilkes/
Questions?