Product development for start-ups
From idea to sellable product
Start-ups come to us with an idea and a limited budget — not with a specification. The difference from working with an established manufacturer is not the technology but the sequence: first it must be established whether the product can be manufactured, and at what unit cost. Because the unit cost of your future product is not created in production but in design — and after tool release it is practically impossible to correct.
- Entry point
- Feasibility and cost frame as a defined first stage
- Scope
- Concept · Design · Prototype · Tooling · Series
- For whom
- First series-capable product, hardware start-ups, spin-offs
- Confidentiality
- Agreed before the first substantive discussion
- IP rights
- Design data, calculations and tooling documentation transfer to you
What start-ups get differently here
Four points where working with a young company differs from working with an established manufacturer. They concern not the technology but the approach and the risk.
Feasibility before investment
Before tooling costs arise, a compact first stage establishes whether your concept can be manufactured and what unit costs and tooling investment to expect. If an idea is not economically producible in its current form, we say so — at a point when it still costs nothing.
- Manufacturability of the concept
- Unit cost estimate
- Tooling investment
- Realistic timeline
Invest in stages
A production tool is rarely the right first step. Often a single-cavity tool or a small series makes more sense: you get sellable parts, gather market experience and lay out the production tool only once the geometry is settled.
- Functional samples instead of production parts
- Single-cavity tool for a small series
- Production tool only once geometry is stable
- 3D printing where it is the better answer
Documentation for investors
Development produces evidence anyway: FEA results, tolerance analyses, sampled and measured parts, a robust unit-cost calculation. We document these results so they can be used in funding discussions and with grant bodies.
- FEA results and strength verification
- Measured sampling parts
- Unit cost and tooling calculation
- Technical documentation for grant applications
One point of contact
For a small team, coordinating designer, toolmaker, moulder and machine builder is the real effort. With us, product development, tool design and special-purpose machinery sit in the same house — you run one project, not four interfaces.
- Design and tooling from one house
- No losses at interfaces
- One project owner
- Over 30 years of series production experience
How we de-risk your product
Realistic about volumes
Tooling costs amortise over volume. We work through with you from which quantity each tooling concept pays off — and we say so when 3D printing or a bought-in part is the better answer for your first series than a dedicated tool.
IP and confidentiality
Your idea remains your idea. We agree confidentiality before the first substantive discussion, and the results of development — design data, calculations, tooling documentation — transfer to you in full.
FEA instead of gut feeling
Where a part carries load, we calculate it. That replaces prototype loops — particularly expensive on a tight budget — and at the same time produces the verification investors and test bodies want to see.
Production-ready from the first sketch
Demouldability, wall thicknesses and tolerance chains determine unit cost. Checking them only after the design is done means paying twice: once for the change, once for the lost time.
Prototypes via established partners
Stereolithography, SLS and laser sintering, vacuum casting — via established partners, without you having to build up your own supplier relationships.
Series support after launch
The project does not end at release. We manage revision levels, tool corrections and adaptations to new variants across the product life cycle.
The stage plan
Four stages, four decisions. Each stage ends with a robust result — you invest in the next only once the previous one has validated the product. No step forces the next.
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1
Feasibility
Assess the concept, check manufacturability, estimate unit cost and tooling investment. Result: a sound basis for a decision.
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2
Functional sample
Design and prototype, tested under real conditions. Result: a part you can hold and show.
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3
Small series
Single-cavity tool or small-series production. Result: sellable parts and real market experience before the production tool is built.
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4
Series
Production tool, sampling, release and series support. Result: a product manufactured economically and repeatably.
Frequently asked questions
We only have a sketch — is that enough to talk?
Yes. Most start-up projects here begin with a hand sketch or a 3D print made from hardware-store material. What matters more than the data is that function and target group are clear — from those, manufacturing process and cost frame can be derived.
What does the first stage cost?
The feasibility stage is deliberately small and offered as a defined package so the entry barrier stays low. We define the specific scope after an initial discussion.
Who owns the design data?
You do. Design data, calculations and tooling documentation transfer to you in full. Confidentiality is agreed before the first substantive discussion.
From what volume does a dedicated tool pay off?
That depends on part size, material and cycle time and cannot be answered in general terms. We calculate the threshold for your part — and we say so when 3D printing or a bought-in part is cheaper for your launch quantity.
Can you also support grant applications?
We supply the technical substance: feasibility assessment, calculations, cost estimates and schedule in a form that can be carried into grant applications and investor documents. The application itself is handled by you or your advisor.
How long from idea to sellable product?
For a manageable plastic component, six to twelve months to small-series production is realistic, depending on testing effort and tool procurement. We set the schedule in the feasibility stage so you can substantiate it to investors.
