Must Hardware Be So Hard? [Future of Agile Design]
Agile design is not only for software. We use the same principles to outpace the competition.
So, what is the difference between Agile and Waterfall processes?
“Agile” is the presiding wisdom in software development; products are modified in an iterative fashion involving patches, version updates, etc. Changes are quick and relatively painless.
“Waterfall” is the traditional hardware development method. It involves several steps dependant upon one another. In the end, a physical product is produced and replicated exactly, without change. It’s a one-and-done situation. There are no patches or updates that can be done after a product is completed.
As an example, you wouldn’t release a next-generation smartphone then casually update the camera on millions of customer’s products. That would be absurd, and costly.
Agile Hardware for Dummies
When creating hardware products, you’re often injection molding. Molds are expensive and time consuming. As a result, we approach them with an agile mindset.
1. Hard to Soft Molds
Molds are a key component to creating hardware products. Because of the time and cost involved, we decide what type is needed at what time. This process allows us to move quickly and make changes while reducing risk.
Hard Mold ($$$): Made of high-grade stainless steel, these are costly but very durable. They take 3–5 weeks to create and generally produce 10,000~1,000,000 parts. This is usually the final mold for mass production when you are confident in your product execution and sales revenue.
Soft Mold ($$): Made of softer metals like aluminum, these are quick to make and are used to produce 1,000~10,000 parts. These give you a high fidelity product without the investment of a hard mold.
Very Soft Mold ($): Silicone and urethane soft molds can be made locally in about a week without specialized equipment. They are great for rough proof of concepts as long as you don’t need fine details or more than a handful of units. Silicone molds are often used in jewelry design, while urethane is used for all sorts of prototypes.
We often lower our risk and cost by using softer molds to rapidly iterate. Then we incorporate feedback, update our geometry if needed and create hard tools in confidence.
2. Additive Manufacturing [3D Printing]
3D printing is coming of age and is becoming a regular tool in our agile design studio. While most 3D printer technologies don’t produce production quality products, they are great for testing mechanical concepts quickly and reducing risk before tooling. With 3D printing, we can print soft materials for wearables, hard materials for industrial applications, and even medical grade materials. Combined with the other tools in our workshop we can replicate the manufacturing process to get to market even faster.
3. Computational Design
If you want to save thousands of hours of labor and come up with otherworldly designs through artificial intelligence, check this out.
Parametric Design is a process by which designers use specific parameters to define a form. These parameters are usually mathematic, material, or similar types of constraints. These make editing a form very easy. You simply change one of the parameters to suit your needs.
Generative Design uses software to conceptualize structures that mimic nature’s organic and evolutionary approach. The computer simulates thousands of designs, virtually, to find the most ideal solution based on user input. For example, one of the parameters might be, “I don’t want to use lots of material because it costs too much.” So, the computer will remove all the unnecessary material and keep the optimum amount to be structurally sound. Often, these final structures look beautifully skeletal.
4. Local Manufacturing
Overseas manufacturing requires cross-cultural communication, travel, and a degree of blind faith. Issues of miscommunication and timing can kill your product, if not your entire company.
Finding local manufacturing partners and component vendors has many great benefits. Manufacturers in your area know local regulations and you don’t have to incur tariff or customs fees. Keeping it local builds your economy and puts people to work. It saves you four weeks of shipping time! On a sustainability note, it reduces the amount of pollution put into the atmosphere. And, acquiring materials locally is better for closed loop recycling. So, look at investing in your own community while building a sense of brand loyalty.
5. Virtual Testing
Finally, before you do any 3-D printing and human testing, think about virtual reality to align stakeholders. Both clients and manufacturing partners can put on a headset and experience how it feels to interact with your product. This process requires little capital and helps you make smart decisions to minimize modifications down the road.
Making hardware easy is all about the process.
If you’ve got a product in mind, we’d love to jam! Hit us up at “info@nonfiction.design” or visit our website Nonfiction.design and check out the rest of our Future Future series:
