METAL MANUFACTURING

Getting a product to the point it is ready to be manufactured takes several steps. First you need to develop your product, taking it from an innovative product idea to final design which has been tried and tested. It is rare that a manufacturer is able to help you with product design. 

The best way to design and manufacture a product, is to work with a product design company such as Duku to oversee product design and product prototyping, designing for manufacture at every stage.

Duku can help you manufacture a product, using our trusted product manufacturing network. You will need a set of design files including 2D technical drawings, 3D CAD models and a bill of materials to approach manufacturers. All of which Duku can produce for you.

We are often asked this very early in the project. We need to approach a manufacturer with a completed set of design files, where we can accurately quote the production cost of your invention. So we have to complete earlier concept development, CAD design and prototyping phases before we can investigate manufacturing costs.

Design for manufacture is the final stage of a product development project. Within this stage our product designers ensure that your working product meets the requirements of manufacturers and their machinery.

Design for assembly is the process of designing a product to be easy to manufacture, by reducing the complexity of the product. For instance reducing the number of parts may reduce cost and speed of assembly.

We are experts at taking products through the entire development process and getting products to manufacture. We do this by thinking about manufacturability of a product at the very start of the concept development and CAD design phases. We take into account the form and construction of a product so that the first prototype is has already been design for assembly ease. 

As the project progresses we work with our manufacturing partners to incorporate design for manufacture features into your product, so there is no unexpected surprises when you get to manufacturing.

Duku has a network of approved trusted suppliers who we have worked with for over a decade. Capable of working on small simple products, through to large electro-mechanical products and even medical devices. Working with our suppliers streamlines the production quotation and manufacturing stages of your product. You can source your own manufacturer but it can take a lot of time to find the right manufacturer, who can produce your product at the right price and quality.

Duku are big supporters of UK manufacturing and we have a range of UK product manufacturers we have worked with for years. There are many benefits, with speed and ease of communication, to having a local supplier you can visit. UK manufacturers are also very price competitive compared to foreign suppliers, because they do not need to add international shipping and duties costs to your product. Particularly with low volume products UK manufacturers are often cheaper.

Chinese manufacturers can be cheaper at very high volumes of product, when produced in the thousands. They can also be well set up to handle multi-material assemblies and certain types of specialist products. Where ever possible we look to provide competitive UK product manufacturing options as well.

We create manufacturing specifications in order to communicate all the details needed for a manufacturer to quote and produce your product. Within this we will provide CAD models, bill of materials (BOM), 2D technical drawings and assembly instructions. They are vital to ensure production runs smoothly.