How to build the most efficient experimental production using free tools (while saving thousands of $)

At WayRay, we combine holographic technology with True Augmented Reality so that windshields on cars, public transport, agricultural machinery, helicopters and more, can display virtual information. We create every component of our devices ourselves, a process we call Deep Tech and keep our experimental production in-house. There are several key benefits to doing this, and we have learned how to refine this approach along the way. We will explain why we have adopted this method and how to make it work.

The Average Approach

Prototyping is about creating new devices, trying them, changing them, and generally experimenting until it does what you want it to do. However, prototyping is often costly, in time and money. The average costs of prototyping can be broken down to 30% for scrap, 30% for organization costs, 10% for material costs, 20% for machining costs, and 10% for other expenses. Scrapping and organization costs are the largest. Scrap usually comes as a result of the development process and needs to go back, start again, re-design, re-make, etc. This is a normal part of experimentation. The organization costs come from slowing down processes to transfer information between different individuals, departments, or outsourced teams. Essentially, most of the costs are a result of a loss of time.

Often companies outsource prototyping, so other companies take care of prototyping and eventually give you back the product. When you outsource, often a prototype comes back and needs to be returned for further improvement because each product goes through several stages of changes. Sometimes companies have machinists who work on one type of production, which means that work is inefficiently distributed, leaving 5 people working on one product and one another because of their skill sets.

One major problem in the usual method is poor organization. Often companies use heavy manufacturing execution systems (MES) or product lifestyle management (PLM) systems. These, in essence, organize the workload. The systems regularly used rely on large IT networks with support staff and are often very outdated, relying on non-user-friendly interfaces from the 90s. This slows down processes, makes the flow of information unclear, and drives up overall costs. There is also a lack of analysis or data so that there is no clarity on how to improve production.

“If you do average work, you’ll get average results,” says Alexander Bobryshev. When you outsource prototyping, you will never get positive results, and the costs will be higher. To get better results at a lower cost and less time, it is better to keep it in-house.

The WayRay Way

With WayRay, all prototyping is done in-house. This saves a huge amount of time, as everything is in one place, all communication channels are open, and modifications do not require scrapping entire products each time. All of our machinists are trained to work on any task so that they can take any task and address it. This way, there is no inefficient labour distribution or need for external help, which can be incredibly costly. In-house production with trained machinists reduces our scrapping costs to less than 1%, a massive reduction from the average 30%.

At WayRay, another improvement over the usual model is that we do not rely on expensive and complex IT systems. We use free software, which is entry-level in terms of usability, with the use of a shared spreadsheet and a bot that automatically collects the data from the Kanban board (an online work board). Any member of our team can use this to find what needs to be done, with the priority level visible and all other vital information to get started on a task. There is no slowdown in communication as a result, and as everyone is trained in all manner of tasks, production is rapid. It also can show what needs improving. To further ensure quality, we have weekly and monthly meetings to analyse all relevant data, see what needs enhancing and monitor scrap levels.

We didn’t always have this system; this particular system has been in effect since 2018. Six years ago, we had a very disorganized approach relying on google drive and excel, without any data management, with no room for analysis, and slow communication.

In five years, our machining capacity has doubled, but our output has increased from 30 to 400 positions, meaning that it’s not about what tools you have, but how you are organized!

The main advice for anyone who has a production company is as follows

Keep prototyping in-house

This will save you time and money and get faster results, as you understand your requirements and can constantly experiment until you get it right.

“Doing in-house production is achievable if you are willing to work at it.” — Alexander Bobryshev

Usually, you do not need high-level equipment or to be a genius; you just have well-trained personnel and clear organization. We have mid-level machining equipment, but the equipment itself does not produce a part. It is more important to have excellent teams who source materials and tools, designers and engineers who ensure our production and prototyping are effective

Stay independent

We try to avoid contracts with dealers; rather, we imported most of our machines ourselves and set them up, saving us money. Staying independent gives you more room to experiment as well.

Analyze your data 24/7

This is essential to improve constantly. Have regular meetings and keep all data available to see.

“You cannot do it all by yourself. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and be open-minded.” — Alexander Bobryshev.

No matter how long you have been working with something, you can always learn more, and you cannot do anything alone, so stay open-minded and collaborate with others.

This is the WayRay approach. This is the WayRay style.