Realizing the Value of an Electronic Prototype Partner
Creating an electronic prototype is essential to new product introduction. No matter how well designed the board is, it’s always possible for mistakes and problems to occur that might jeopardize your product’s functionality. You need to catch these issues before the initial production run, which is why an electronic prototype partner is critical before moving ahead with the manufacturing process.
Why Working with an Electronic Prototype Partner is Important
Prototypes are essential to test design ideas and create viable end products. An electronic prototype partner specializes in creating PCB and product prototypes that help fine-tune the product before moving into full production. Working with a prototype partner helps companies realize four key benefits.
1. Faster Design Cycle
Just as biomedical companies are charging forward at full speed to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, small and large businesses seeking to get a jump on the competition need to bring their products to market as quickly as possible. An electronic prototype partner can help speed up both the design and manufacturing processes, thus reducing time to market and providing a distinct competitive advantage.
An electronic prototype partner minimizes the new product introduction timeline by identifying problems before they become major issues and reducing the number of unnecessary redesigns. It costs less to catch problems before full production is underway.
2. Independent Review
An electronic prototyping service provides an independent review to the new product design process. The prototyping partner sees things from a fresh perspective and can help identify issues that otherwise may go unnoticed. Often, serious design flaws are not detected until you create a physical prototype.
3. Functional Prototypes
Electronic prototype partners know how to create prototypes quickly and efficiently – with a high degree of accuracy. Accurate prototypes are necessary to determine how a PCB or product functions in the real world and stands up under rigorous testing.
4. Reduced Costs
By catching design flaws early in the process, when they’re easy to fix, an electronic prototype partner helps reduce the overall costs of a project. Working with a functionally accurate prototype also helps identify cost-saving changes you can make to the product.
Prototyping is Key to the Final Product
Prototyping during the design phase helps prepare your new product for manufacturing. A functionally accurate prototype is necessary to construct a detailed bill of materials (BOM) and manufacturing process instructions (MPI), both of which are necessary before moving into the assembly stage. The BOM is required to source all necessary components and manage the supply chain. The MPI guides the design of the entire manufacturing process.
Feedback from the BOM and MPI often results in additional design changes for efficiency and quality control. We conduct additional testing on the alpha and beta prototypes, with the result being the final functional prototype. This leads to full-scale production of the finished product – all the kinks having been worked out in the various prototype stages by your electronic prototype partner.
Sonic Provides All Your Prototyping and Assembly Needs
With more than 20 years of experience, Sonic Manufacturing Technologies understands the importance of prototyping to the new product introduction process. We provide everything you need to produce a successful product under one roof – prototyping, testing, layout, engineering, assembly, and more. Choose Sonic for your prototyping and new product needs.
When you need to prototype a new product, contact Sonic Manufacturing Technologies online or call (510) 674-1928.