What is low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing?

One of the trickiest transitions within the product development process is when a product’s design is gearing up for manufacturing. It’s one thing to look at a design’s renderings or prototypes – but production is when things start to feel very real. One way to ease the transition to manufacturing is by partnering with a product developer that can also handle low-volume, high-complexity manufacturing.

Low-volume manufacturing is the production of (you guessed it) a low volume of parts – some companies can handle anywhere from 10 to 100,000 parts. This capability can bridge the gap between prototyping and full-volume production, while also fully validating a product’s design and manufacturing processes.

Related Reading: Verification vs. Validation Testing: Product Development Checks & Balances

For example, let’s say you’re designing a catheter. You’ve made it through the product development process to the point where you need to begin considering production. A low-volume manufacturing partner can help you to set up a customized pilot line with any specialized fixtures and/or tooling to make the catheter. They can also help you to verify and validate the catheter’s manufacturing process, testing along the way for quality control. This partner can also help you maintain proper documentation so that when it comes time to ramp up to full production, the transition is seamless. 

At Goddard, low-volume manufacturing is a natural extension of our product development capabilities. Our process already considers manufacturability at every step of a product’s design (after all, a product can’t meet its users needs if it cannot be produced). A thorough product development process is, at its core, iterative – reflecting on what has been learned and feeding that data back into the product’s design. Low-volume manufacturing is another way to ensure that your product’s design is fully vetted before it’s time to transition to full-volume production.

Learn more about product development in our Product Development Guide

This capability can also serve to provide surge capacity to companies who do not wish to interrupt ongoing production to set up pilot lines for development builds. At Goddard, we can flexibly adapt to our client’s needs, serving as a drop-in fit for companies who need the extra space and talent.

Working with Goddard

Goddard’s team of experienced, reliable engineers and designers can help guide you through the product development process or plug into existing projects as needed. 

If you’re looking for a skillful partner to help get your next project started, check out some of our Featured Projects or dive into Our Process to learn more about how we approach product development. 

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