It all starts with the design…

The design phase of the product development process is probably one of the most important, if not THE most important part of the product life cycle.  Without a good design, a molded fiberglass or thermoformed plastic part can be expensive to tool up, expensive to build, expensive to ship and expensive to modify.  Conversely, a well-designed fiberglass or plastic part will flow smoothly through the production process, allow for modifications if necessary, allow for ease in packaging and shipping and be affordable to produce.

I have lost track as to how many projects that have come across my desk where a company is in need of a fiberglass or plastic company to produce their molded fiberglass or thermoformed plastic part, but is striking out in finding a company who can produce it.  Why does this happen?   Most often it is because the designer did not have any idea as to how the part would be made once it was past the design phase.

Having a designer who isn’t familiar with designing a part with a specific process in mind with which he is knowledgeable on the intricacies and limitations of the process, usually results in a lot of wasted effort and money.  Inevitably, the part must be redrawn or modified in order to be able to be produced in a cost-effective manner.  As a custom molder of fiberglass and thermoformed plastic parts, we can produce some incredible things.  But the design must fit the process.  If you have a part that sells for $50/ea and costs you $25/ea and you expect to sell 250 of them a year, but the tooling to produce the fiberglass or thermoformed part is going to cost $50,000, are you ready to wait a minimum of 8 years just to pay off the tooling investment?  Designing a thermoformed or fiberglass part can tank a great idea if not executed properly.

Arrowhead welcomes and encourages our customers to engage with us during the design process.  You may not even be sure if you want your part to be made from fiberglass or plastic.  We can help with that also.  For a brief description regarding the differences, please check out my blog comparing and contrasting molded fiberglass vs thermoformed plastic.  We want to be a part of the product development process from the process selection and design phase all the way through the production and shipping of finished product.  Arrowhead has been specializing in molded fiberglass and thermoformed plastic parts for over 40 years.  Thus, we are very familiar with the limitations, advantages, cost cutting measures and intricacies involved with the thermoforming and open/close molded fiberglass processes.

Before you embark upon the design phase of your fiberglass or thermoformed part, please give us a call.   As a supplier to you, it is our goal to help ensure your part meets its unique project parameters and is able to be produced in a cost-effective manner.