We’ve all heard the phrase, “The early bird gets the worm.”
But what about “early engagement with your contract manufacturing partner gets easier scaling, faster production time, and higher quality parts?”
Thanks to AMF’s extensive contract manufacturing capabilities, we can take parts from prototype to volume production under one roof. When customers work with us early in the design process, we use decades of industry knowledge to help them design parts that can be manufactured quickly and cost-effectively. Our involvement in the design phase also prevents potential issues that can be disastrous in volume production.
Scaling is simple, production is fast, and parts are high quality. That’s the value of early engagement.
When customers engage AMF from the start of the design process, we can provide input early on. Our manufacturing expertise empowers us to create clear and easily manufacturable designs, saving time and resources for our customers.
General principles of DFM include:
We want to use our knowledge to help customers save money and expedite manufacturing. But you can be confident that when designing for manufacturability, we never take shortcuts that sacrifice quality.
Working with a rapid prototype shop can seem like an enticing option. Although customers may be able to get the prototype expedited, that quicker turn time will be lost when they want to go to production and this option will likely cost them in the long run when they eventually engage with a high-volume shop.
For example, scaling will take longer than it should because the new contract manufacturing partner will have additional quality checks and processes that are critical on first time builds. And there’s a good chance the rapid prototype shop won’t have made an effort to optimize the design for fast and cost-effective volume manufacturing.
Collaborating with AMF from the beginning means we know precisely what customers need from us every step of the way. By the time we’ve completed a prototype, we have no doubt that it’s optimized for volume manufacturing. And our state-of-the-art machines are programmed and ready to go so we can hit the ground running.
When working with AMF, it goes without saying that customer designs are confidential—but we’ll say it anyway.
We believe in honoring customers’ ideas and willingly sign NDAs to protect intellectual property. Intellectual property ownership is immediately transferred to the customer when the design is finalized and paid for.
You won’t always get this treatment from other vendors. For example, companies offering free design services are known for handcuffing customers to working with only their shop. How? They restrict customers from accessing the complete part design, instead giving them a top-level version that doesn’t provide other manufacturers the information they need to accurately quote and build the parts.
Here’s the bottom line—at AMF, customers own their designs. No ifs, ands, or buts.
With a broad range of in-house capabilities to create a seamless customer experience, AMF is truly a one-stop shop for design, fabrication, finishing, and assembly. Engaging with us for the prototype-to-production process saves time, reduces purchase orders, and entrusts full oversight of part quality to just one partner.
Not all shops have an in-house engineering team, but we do. That means enhanced efficiency and less time wasted during the prototype development journey. Our team has decades of experience, and our engineers have spent enough time on the shop floor that they have a greater ability to design for manufacturability. Each of our employees brings a deep understanding of the manufacturing process when designing for manufacturability.
In addition to our engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we offer finishing services like powder coating, silk screening, and laser marking. Our finishing equipment is top-of-the-line, resulting in consistently attractive finishes.
We’ll say it again—early engagement results in easier scaling, faster production time, and higher quality parts. Working with us early in the product development process brings products to market faster by making the transition into volume production seamless and cost-effective.
Let us take your project from prototype to production. Request a quote today.
