Process
First Things First
Most projects normally begin with you, the Client, approaching us with an idea for a new product.
Maybe you have an existing product that you would like refreshing and bringing up to date?
Or maybe you just need an additional resource to compliment your team?
In
any
case,
we
would
normally
kick
things
off
with
a
face
to
face
meeting
to
discuss
your
requirements,
often
followed
by
a
“brainstorming”
session
to
get
the
feel
of
your
product
and
what
is
required
to
bring
the project to fruition on time in specification and in budget.
The
next
step
is
to
disceminate
the
details
from
our
discussion
and
come
back
to
you
with
some
ideas
of
the direction to go.
This could be with the aid of sketches, mood boards etc, or it could be we go direct into CAD designs.
Briefing
The
briefing
meeting
allows
us
to
find
out
about
your
product
ideas
and give you some initial feedback.
We
will
listen
carefully
to
what
you
are
hoping
to
achieve
and
then
ask
a
few
questions
of
our
own.
Then
between
us
we
will
complete
a
product
design
specification
document,
this
will
be
the
basis
for
our
initial
design
study
as
it
is
a
comprehensive
checklist
that
makes
sure
we’ve got all the information we need.
CAD
All
development
stages
can
be
undertaken
at
AlphaWave,
from
simple
part
design
to
whole
projects.
Using
SolidWorks
CAD
and
our
expertise
to
speed
up
the
development
time
and
potentially
reduce manufacturing costs.
The
CAD
data
is
used
to
transform
your
ideas
into
fully
featured
Products
in
terms
of
assembly
and
function.
Once
development
is
under
way
in
3D
CAD
the
data
can
be
used
to
produce
either
virtual
models or physical prototype models.
The
3D
data
is
used
to
carry
out
flow
and
FEA
analysis
where
necessary
it
also
drives
the
tooling
design
whether
it
be
for
injection
moulding,
blow
moulding
or
any
other
process.
This
means
that
your
product
can
be
in
your
hands
quickly
and
available to test in the real world.
AlphaWave
specialises
in
providing
engineering
design
for
both
simple
parts
or
more
complex
products
in
which
a
high
level
of
technical
expertise
is
required,
we
aim
to
deliver
solutions
that
embrace
the
form
and
function
as
well
as
design
for
manufacturing,
assembly
and
recycling
as
well
as
packaging
and
distribution issues.
PROTOTYPING
Nothing brings you closer to the final product than prototyping. Sure,
you can evaluate a product inside your PC using FEA, etc. but “virtual
reality” can’t give you the feel and texture of the product.
It is the prototype that brings to life that “user experience”. The design
may look great on the screen, but you won’t know if it works on end
users until they touch, feel and use it, the prototype allows this. Not
only do prototypes help provide proof of concept, they more
importantly expose any usability flaws behind the design.
In House:
In house we can generate one off rapid prototypes and small batches
using our ULTIMAKER 3D Printer.
The maximum build size we can handle is 220mm x 220mm 315mm
high.
Outsourced:
For larger sized prototypes we can outsource either rapid or
conventional prototypes from one of our technology partners.
TOOLING
Once the design has been validated, the next stage is tooling, weather
you go for prototype tooling as a first step, or you go directly in to
production tooling is up to you.
In either case we can design the tooling for you, or oversee tooling
design from a third party manufacturer and arrange tool trials and “0”
series production.
MANUFACTURING
Once you decide to take the next step you need to think
about taking your product to market, that will include part
production, assembly and packaging of your product.
Production:
If you have in-house production facilities we can, at the
design stage, tune your product to optimize your
production facilities.
If you require 3rd parties to manufacture you parts or you
require, we can source vendors to do this for you.
Assembly:
We design with ease of assembly in mind. If a product
contains fewer parts it will take less time to assemble,
thereby reducing assembly costs.
If you don’t assemble in-house we can help you source
someone who can do it for you.
Packaging:
Weather your product is for retail, wholesale or industrial
use, it will need some form of packaging, a blister, a carton
or palletization.
We can design ecological, sustainable packaging to
compliment your product.