163: 2023 Trends in Product Development for Hardware Products

Brian Thompson is head of CREO CAD software for PTC.  He spent the first 16 years of his career doing CAD design engineering for hundreds of products, many of which are still in production today, then the last 14 years building CAD software solutions to allow designers to make better hardware products.  Today Brian is going to share some valuable knowledge for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on what the 3 main product development trends are in 2023 which include using design simulations, designing earlier for manufacturing, and using additive manufacturing for a first short or medium term production run. Today you will hear us talk about: Using simulation more in the design process Advances in technology to make digital simulation in CAD Design You no longer need to be an expert to do some tests in simulations The earlier you use CAD simulations, the quicker you discover problems. You can explore more design alternatives if you can apply simulation to your designs More investment in manufacturing in the design process CAD software can be used to evaluate design and prototyping, but now there are more tools to actually evaluate in CAD. Three key design steps are idea design, prototype and functional design, and design for manufacturing, in that order. Software is now making it easier to move to the next steps and improve the quality  More additive manufacturing, especially in short run Feedback from those first parts is a huge opportunity. Focus on equity. As a startup, plan on leveraging additive manufacturing to do a first production run to reduce risk. Design for additive, but with a plan to migrate those additive designs into full scale manufacturing when you scale. EPISODE LINKS: Brian Thompson Links: LinkedIn | LiveWorx 2023 | Try OnShape for Free | Creo | PTC The Product Startup Podcast Links: https://www.ProductStartup.com/ Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube PTC Links: https://www.ptc.com/ OnShape | Creo Mako Design Links: https://www.makodesign.com/ YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter Kevin Mako Links: Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter Partner: PTC’s best-in-class software solutions Onshape: The only cloud-native product development platform that delivers full-featured computer-aided design (CAD), integrated product data management (PDM) and enterprise analytics in a single system, and Creo: 3D CAD solution that provides designers with the most innovative tools to build better products faster, such as generative design, additive manufacturing, real-time simulation, IIoT, and augmented reality. Producer: 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.