How Does a Project to Develop 3D Printable Products Work?
When you want to start a project to develop 3D printable products you first have to decide whether the project should be implemented internally or externally. When it comes to internal projects, the biggest challenge is finding knowledge sources within your own company. Specialized product developers like us at Enable 3D can help with external projects.
For a project with an external specialized design studio or product designer, an example process looks like this:
1. Kick-off workshop
In the first workshop, the goals for the company and the strategy are set. The main thing to pay attention to here is the number of products and the respective use cases. It is often application experts such as product managers who come with customer-oriented suggestions.
2. Development of proposed solutions
In the next step, for example, after about a month, we present concrete implementation and solution proposals for the planned products and use cases. In exchange with internal experts, a revision cycle or the progression of development is then agreed upon.
3. Development of final 3D printable prototypes
The most important step is the actual product design. The course will be set at that time, especially with regard to the special nature of additive manufacturing, in order to ultimately achieve good usability. This phase lasts around 6 weeks for average projects.
4. Release
When the physical prototypes have been developed, we send them already printed to the internal experts for testing. Feedback from the sales organization and directly from users and customers is often extremely helpful.
5. Content production
After the release process, development is completed and marketing preparation begins. First, renderings or photo content are created depending on the customer's wishes. We offer this as standard in our projects.
6. Launch and distribution
In the final step, the data is uploaded to the previously agreed distribution channels. There can be a wide mix of your own and third-party channels.
7. Reporting and optimization
After the launch, it is particularly important to monitor the download numbers regularly. We are happy to provide standardized reporting here. Based on qualitative user feedback and download statistics, you can then see whether the 3D printing products need to be optimized.
Enable 3D - Product Development for 3D printing
Enable 3D is the digital layer to your physical products. In collaboration with you we apply additive manufacturing to enable the circular economy for a more sustainable world. Based on the use cases of your customers we develop and market 3D printing designs like storage solutions, accessory and lifestyle products. Together we reshape value chains with 3D print-at-home solutions.
