Invention design takes lots of work to move an idea the whole way from concept to production. There will be challenges, and you need to plan for these from a design perspective. An invention design company will encourage its clients to prepare for these four challenges.
Practicality
Foremost, an invention has to be practical. This doesn't mean it has to solve a practical problem, as anyone who ever owned a pet rock can attest. However, the invention design needs to be practical in and of itself. The components must interoperate without catching each other, for example.
An invention design company can help you prototype a product and test it for potential practical shortcomings. You can then work around these design issues until you arrive at a demonstration-ready model.
Manufacturing and Distribution Feasibility
Product success often boils down to how feasible the manufacturing process will be. A good invention design should incorporate manufacturers' concerns about a product. Suppose an extruded component requires a thick material that easily gums up nozzles. You may need to alter the design to make manufacturing more feasible. A good design should consider alternate materials that reduce costs or make processes simpler.
Likewise, distribution needs to be feasible. If your design requires assembly, for example, it needs to fit in a shipping box. The design has to make as much sense broken-down as it does when it’s assembled, and it needs to survive the shipping process.
Defensibility of Intellectual Property
An invention needs to be legally defensible. The design has to be unique and address a problem. More importantly, you should be able to describe the solution in a patent filing.
Similarly, an invention design shouldn't run afoul of an existing product's intellectual property. An invention design company should assess all existing patents to identify potential similarities that could produce IP challenges. Whenever a problem appears, the company should also suggest alterations that steer clear of existing patented properties. In some cases, though, they may also suggest licensing existing IP if it enables your invention cost-effectively.
Funding Appeal
Few inventions go from concept to market without some business dealings along the way. As an inventor develops a feasible prototype, they're likely to look for funding. The invention design should provide funding appeal. In the same way that you want the invention to grab potential buyers when it goes to market, you also want it to be self-explanatory to potential funders.
To get started, contact an invention design service such as On Target Design and Manufacturing.
Share14 February 2023
I have always been one of those people who is concerned about things like safety, which is probably one of the reasons I started going through and carefully evaluating manufacturing processes. Although I don't work in the field, I realized that it would be fun to learn about how things are made, so I started focusing on different techniques. I was able to find a ton of really great information about manufacturing, and it has really helped me to understand the detailed processes involved with manufacturing. This blog is here to encourage people to learn as much as they can about manufacturing. Check it out!