So just as the name states, the goal here is to prove the concept of the product you want to ultimately produce.  The goal is fairly clear, however, the way you define that goal gets a bit trickier.  The three things you want to accomplish at this stage are:

1. Lean startup mentality – fail fast, fail cheap.  You have the idea, now does anyone want it?  Having a POC that is cost effective to create is important here.  Assessing validation of the idea and product at every stage of prototyping is paramount.  You must avoid phrases like, “I just know this will be big.” 
2. Determine your next incremental step.  If you have X resources, what do you expect to accomplish after expending X resources?  For instance, if you are willing to put in 100 hours of time and $200, there should be a goal at the end of that stage.  It can be as simple as answering the question, does anyone like my product to determine if it is worth investing more time.  It could be more complex such as, I need to be able to raise $20,000 for my next step of development with this POC. 
3. Does it work?  This may seem obvious, and so many times ideas seem so clear in your head, but once you start working on it, you find details that just do not pan out. 

Building hardware isn’t cheap, but it is getting better all the time.  Here is where places like Spark Fun and products like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino come in.  You can mock up some hardware, display, some buttons, and show how your product can work.  Of course this is great if you are technical, but if you are not, then you have a few more challenges ahead of you, but you can still validate.  Perhaps you can make up some renderings and tell the story of your product visually.  Or, you can partner with someone technical.  In either case, technical or not, you should always build a team.  Techs need non-techs and vice versa, but this is another blog. 

Your POC needs to tell the story, show the story, and validate the product.  The definition of a POC is the goal.  It is defined by the early stages of accomplishing these goals.  Keep in mind that a POC is also typically limited in looks and function.  It is not a minimal viable product (MVP).  It’s just the first stages on your way to a functional prototype, and pilot run, and MVP.

Unless you have all of the resources you need to create and develop your product, you are more than likely interfacing with a technical consultant or engineering company.  The more effectively you can communicate with the technical team, the better your chances of getting what you want. 

Writing it down and describing all of your ideas and how they will work together will be a very effective task for moving your idea forward with your technical team.  You will begin to see holes in the logic, stumble upon new ideas, and begin to document what is in your head.  Writing it down will also alleviate the constant ruminating of an idea in your head.

But you say, “I’m not an engineer!  I don’t know how to write a specification!”.  Well, both statements may be true, but if you want to pave the way to a successful product development venture, you’ll need to learn to communicate your ideas effectively to the engineers who can write a specification.  And with a few helpful tips, you too can write a basic specification.

An item of note, this list is for a somewhat validated idea.  This list assumes you’ve already performed the basics like validated a market, created a tentative business model, and you have performed some level of prototyping.

1. Brainstorm.  Your first step is to just get all of your ideas down on paper.  White boards, drawings, and short lists are a good place to start.  You want to focus enough on this so it is all out of your head and on paper.  You can move things around later, but now you have your concept documented and you can begin to refine it.
2. Strong and weak words.  Inventors tend to get very tied to their ideas.  Try to break away from that and begin to describe what you need done using some special words.  If you use a phrase like, “The device shall be made from titanium,” then the reader will expect that you are the expert in this material and there is no room for variance.  Other strong phrases are: must have, required to, and will.  Does it need to be made from titanium or is it that weight to be minimized?  There are weak words to use like may or should or can.  Think about what is absolutely required and what would be nice, and the real goal you are hoping to achieve.  Then write that down.  Keep in mind that opposites can also be valuable in your writing.  Phrases like cannot, shall not, and should not are equally useful.
3. Sketch.  As you have heard, a picture is worth a thousand words.  You may be amazed at how effective a simple block diagram in Power Point can be.  Show how things are connected.  Show the logical flow of operation.  There are great mock-up tools for software/apps these days you can also use.  The more you think and articulate your idea, the more effective it will be conveyed and possibly become a better product.
4. Write what you know.  You are probably not an engineer if you are reading this, so don’t try to be.  Yes, you should educate yourself in the technical field of your idea.  You should not spend your days looking over websites for microcontrollers and then specify the use of one in your project.  Describe the features and functionality you require, don’t try to engineer the product unless you have that skillset (before you had this idea).  An experienced engineer will have just that, a lot more experience.  Take advantage of that and let them do what they are good at.
5. Iterate.  A specification is a living document.  It can change as the market and business input is uncovered.  As you learn more about your idea, do more research, and develop your product and business, it will constantly evolve.  Now with that being said, once you engage a technical team, there can be costs associated with change.  You will want to get close enough to start engaging your technical team, but once you hand it over to them you should have a good assurance it’s right, and only make changes that absolutely have to be done.  Inventors tend to like to ‘tinker’ with their ideas which can keep products from ever reaching the market, so iterate until you have something to sell, then stop.  Let the market drive your iterations.  This is a subject for another posting.

What I’ve described above is generally referred to as Functional Requirements Specification or a FRS.  The engineering team will then likely create several documents from this which could be a Design or Product Specification, Test and Validation Plans, etc.  Those are beyond the scope here. 

Don’t worry about making it perfect.  From a non-technical perspective, you should put down the things that you care about.  However technical and non-technical that is.  If you care about the color, put that down.  If you care about costs, put that down.  If you don’t care what material is used, let the engineer figure that out.  In any case, your technical team will start to ask you a lot of questions to help flesh out your specification.  After the ground work is laid, then everyone can be on the same page for what needs to be done.

First Sell 1

Many entrepreneurs and startups are so focused on the big picture.  It’s great to have vision, but can you sell 1?  Go out and try to sell 1.  You’ll learn a lot.  In short this is called validation.  Once you’ve sold 1, sell 10.  See how that goes.  Lose money on them if you must, but sell something.  It’s important at some stage you get money to change hands.  Many ‘customers’ will be happy to use your product for free.  If your product is providing a value to your customer, they should be willing to pay for it.  Paying customers are more likely to tell you the truth about your product.

Now you have the problem that you need something tangible to sell them.  If you are going to sell 1, you now need to make 1, and keep in mind that this order isn’t necessarily important. 

Go out and try to sell 1.

Design for 1

Many would just consider this a prototype, but it should be a little more than this.  It doesn’t need to be at the level of a MVP, but it should be close. 

For electronics you are buying mostly off the shelf products, assembling, and making it work.  Program it up, add your special sauce and go. 

Mechanically, you’ll be looking at 3D prints and traditional machining for plastic and metal components.  It doesn’t matter what this version costs to make, the point is that you made it, and you can sell it.

This version is usually built by the engineer who designed it.

Design for 100

Now that you’ve sold a few and have received invaluable feedback from your early customers, iterate.  Design at this level will likely involve a combination of custom and off the shelf components.  There may be some design compromises, but it’s starting to get to where it should be.  It’s still not perfect, but you should be able to start to produce your product and sell it with a little margin.

Electronics are usually a combination of modules and custom circuits.  Assembly is still cumbersome and only partially automated.  Engineers or skilled techs are still intimately involved at this stage.

Mechanics have not changed much from the first stage.  However for plastics and some metals, casting becomes viable.  This process can start from a 3D print and it is used to create mold, which then liquid plastics or metals can be poured into the mold to create your parts.

Overall assembly can start to be handled by technicians, but the engineer will still be close by.

Design for 1000 to 100,000

Now we are cooking.  You have feedback from your customers, you’ve tweaked and refined the design, you know what is going to sell, and now you want to make a lot of them.

Electronics are full custom to the chip level, no more modules.  There may be some custom components used like ASICs or LCDs, but still electronics are mostly off the shelf or commodity.

Mechanical aspects have moved into high volume production.  Usually plastics are injection molded at this point, metal designs are casted (investment or die-cast), optimized for machining, or possibly re-engineered to plastic to take advantage of injection molding.

The assembly line utilizes a lot of automation and as much unskilled labor as possible.  The process is very important as well as quality control.  A fall out of 5% may be acceptable at low volume, but at higher volumes, you’ll be spending a lot of money manufacturing trash.

Design for 100,000 and Beyond

When your design is manufactured in this volume, you have reached a HNL (whole ‘nother level).  Think of Apple.  They don’t spend much time looking around at what they buy to integrate into their devices, they just design, build and manufacture whatever they need.  If they want a button, they make it.  Custom silicon or screens, they specify it and work with vendors to get it made.  There are still commodity electronics components used, but only when they are a perfect fit for what they need.

The Math

How you design a product is directly related to the quantity the product is manufactured.

Here is the key, the setup and customization charges amortize out across the production run.  We call this NRE, non-recurring engineering (more below).  In every level of design and manufacturing, there is NRE, this leads to the mentality of the more you make, the less it will cost, down to a minimal level.  Here is how the math works.

NRE + cost per unit * volume = total expense / volume

or

(NRE + (cost per unit * volume)) / volume = actual cost per unit

As volume increases, the NRE term becomes insignificant.  Don’t believe me yet?  Here is an example.

A client has spent $100,000 on engineering (NRE) and wishes to produce 2000 units.  The units cost $100 each at that volume.  Plugging in the numbers, the total expense is $200,000.  Dividing by the volume, the real cost per unit is $100.  They all sell and the product is a success and the client determines they should build 100,000 units next time.  Without more NRE, and assuming a 20% reduction in cost due to volume, the total expense is $4M or $40 each (remember we don’t need to amortize the NRE again).  That sounds great!  Look how the cost dropped.  However if you spend another $100,000 in NRE and the cost per unit drops to $25, the total expense is $2.6M and the cost per unit is $26.  Now that is savings.  Spending money to save money.

Spend money to save money.

NRE

NRE can take many forms.  It may be a simple design change from a module to a discrete solution.  Modules cost more because they have added value and the hard work has been done.  If you put in the hard work (NRE), you can reduce your BOM cost by purchasing the less expensive discrete components rather than a module.  Another example on the mechanical side is when moving from 3D printing or castings to injection molding.  ‘Tooling’ is the general term for creating a tool to make a part. Injection mold tools can run from $2000 to over $100,000.  The parts they product may only cost pennies to a few dollars. You are basically paying for the raw material of the plastic and the time, which is much less than the labor and time intensive other methods.

A big place where NRE can pay off big is with DFM, or design for manufacturing.  Making strategic design changes to reduce assembly time and to introduce automation whether with software or machines, can reduce your manufacturing costs, especially with labor intensive product.

A note on volumes

Every product is different.  We’ve had clients where 100 units a year was a massive business and others that weren’t really doing until they hit 10,000.  The numbers here are relative.  The important thing here is to validate and change your design as your volumes increase.  In some cases you may have more custom design at low volumes or source items off the shelf at high volumes. 

The takeaway here is that it takes money to save money.  Figure out where you are in this process and design and manufacture accordingly.

But there often is a long, and lengthy, process from taking an idea from concept to reality, to something tangible that you can hold in your hand.

This is where Anidea Engineering comes in. We take ideas, mere thoughts, and bring them to reality, making them into something real.

We make something from nothing, whether it is helping with product development, engineering consulting, hardware design and engineering, software design and development, industrial design and mechanical engineering, printed circuit board design and development or manufacturing and prototypes, we do it all!

On the top of our web site, right below the URL, is an amazing document to help any inventor prepare for the process, one which we excel at guiding companies through.

When you’re ready, it is time to make a prototype. So what exactly is a prototype? Merriam-Webster defines a prototype as “an original or first model of something from which other forms are copied or developed; someone or something that has the typical qualities of a particular group, kind, etc.; and a first or early example that is used as a model for what comes later.”

Thomas Edison went through many different variations of his prototype of the light bulb before he found one that worked. It took him more than 10,000 tries, but eventually he got there. This can be a long process, but in the end, it is worth the time and dedication. After all, your idea is on the path to becoming a reality.

So you start with a prototype to create a tangible version of your idea. There are many types of prototypes, but the three Anidea Engineering typically deals with are:

• Proof of Concept – This would be an early level prototype that includes many of the final features, but usually has a low level of customization. Typically, Anidea Engineering can take a few off-the-shelf-devices, modify them, program them, etc., and prove the concept the inventor has in mind is practical. They can then be used for raising early stage funds and validating your idea to focus groups.
• Functional Prototype – This is a mid-stage prototype, which usually has a high level of customization. Most components are custom or designed for volume purchasing at this point.  Most of the features are in place. There may be some compromises on functionality due to cost or time constraints.
• Pilot Run – This is a late stage prototype which you have before you start production without the engineers. At this stage the device should represent what you intend to sell. If you find issues here, you iterate, make minor changes and try again.

Prototypes can range in how sophisticated their design and packing are, whether they are made in the garage with a glue gun, or professionally made and ready to show to the market. However, in the early stages, it doesn’t have to be pretty – it just needs to work. Even if it doesn’t, and you keep having to return to the drawing board for your design, don’t feel badly. It isn’t a failure; you are learning what doesn’t work. If it worked for Edison (Even Thomas Edison went through more than 10,000 prototypes until the lightbulb was just right), it will work for you, right?

At Anidea Engineering, we guide you through the process, going from a garage and glue gun inventor to a professional, sellable, specific product.

Yes, prototypes are expensive. For instance, a watch might cost $100 in a department store, but to get that watch from concept to prototype, with manufacturing and testing, may cost more than $100,000.

It takes time, effort, organization and work to take an idea from concept to reality, and we’re here to help.

To learn more, visit www.anidea-engineering.com or call us at (561) 383-7311. Check us out and see how we can help you. Have an idea? Get Anidea! We’re located at 8020 Belvedere Road, Suite 1 in West Palm Beach Florida. Not local? Call and we can set up a Skype conversation at gabriel.goldstein.anidea.