Sometimes, design engineers under or over specify fit-for-purpose project requirements. Along with a host of new materials now commercially available on the market, advanced manufacturing has opened up a range of processes that were not previously possible.

Specialists in design-for-purpose and manufacturability are generally up-to-date with materials and how best to design cost effective solution, but designers with a toolmaking DNA are known to combine a holistic balance of simple mechanisms to solve complex problems, coupled with the right grade and treatment of materials. These skills feed into the commercial challenge of providing competitiveness, which includes aftermarket service to provide spare parts and ease of serving the unit.

It can be a challenge to keeping informed with manufacturing techniques, material science and process improvements unless you are at the cutting edge side of the industry, so be sure to have dynamic partners to collaborate with for your designs, as the cost of getting it wrong can mean your kit doesn’t make it in the market.