Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Make Makable Parts
Not everything that you can cook up in your CAD software can be fabricated. Prototypes
that you have made out of ABS on a 3D printer may be impossible to machine or cast out
of metal. For example, sharp internal corners and square holes can be 3D printed but not
easily machined. Thin-walled plastic parts are also very difficult to fabricate. A high-qual-
ity surface finish or tight precision maintained over a large part dimension may be very
difficult to achieve at a reasonable cost. Ultimately, the difference between what is easy to
manufacture versus what is expensive and time consuming will depend on the capabilities
of the manufacturer you select. The key to making your parts makable is to begin working
with a manufacturer at an early stage, and to get its feedback on the ease of fabrication of
the product you are designing. Don't wait until your project is far downstream in the devel-
opment processtomake sureyourpartscanbefabricated. Mistakes made inthelater stages
of design work are much more costly and much harder to fix than the same mistakes no-
ticed early on. Clearly, then, it's best to think about manufacturability of your design while
you are designing it. That means you need to find a manufacturer!
Selecting Manufacturers
Chapter 12
,
Accelerate from Making to Manufacturing
,
delves deeply into selecting and
handing off designs to manufacturers, but the following sections will go over this process
from a troubleshooting perspective. Finding a good manufacturer is no easy task, but it's
the starting point to getting your product made properly. There are an enormous number of
companies around the globe that would be happy to take your money, but they may not be
able to make the product that you want.
Every search begins with defining the category of product that you are manufacturing.
Is it a wearable computer, a robot, a wireless sensor system? Is it purely mechanical, like a
valve or waterproof battery box? As you narrow down the category, it will be easier to
define the kind of capabilities best suited to producing your product. Then reach out to
other designers, particularly those in the open source hardware community. You may get
lucky and come across someone who has already been down the same path that you are
about to travel and can help you. Even if that's not the case, other contributors or support-
ers of your open source project can help you narrow down the list of manufacturers. Also,
many folks in the open hardware world are happy to share insights and direct newcomers
to known good manufacturers. It certainly helps grow the relationship between a manufac-
turer and a designer if the designer brings in new business. For the newcomer, it's valu-
able to have the referral to the manufacturer as well as someone on the outside with exper-
ience dealing with that particular manufacturer.
