Specifications and the Quoting Process
Outlining Manufacturing Requirements
production specification sheets
At DesignStein, precision in defining a product’s component dimensions, materials, and manufacturing requirements is critical to obtaining accurate tooling and production cost estimates. The specification sheet process plays a key role in ensuring manufacturers receive all necessary details to provide informed and reliable quotations.
Specification Sheets and CAD File Preparation
Once the final CAD files are approved, comprehensive documentation is created to communicate all essential product specifications to potential manufacturing partners. This documentation package includes:
3D CAD files
Provided in industry-standard, non-proprietary formats (such as STEP, IGES, or STL) to ensure compatibility with a broad range of manufacturing systems. These files serve as a reference for tooling and production planning.
2D technical drawings
Dimensioned engineering drawings that highlight critical features, tolerances, hole placements, and other geometric details necessary for fabrication and assembly.
Material Specifications: A detailed breakdown of the materials required for each component, including specific grades, finishes, and any necessary certifications or regulatory compliance requirements.
Manufacturing Process Details: Clear definitions of the recommended manufacturing methods, such as injection molding, CNC machining, die casting, or sheet metal fabrication, based on design complexity, material properties, and cost-efficiency.
Assembly and Component Requirements
If applicable, documentation includes information on how individual components fit together, fastening or bonding methods, and any additional assembly considerations.
Surface Finishes and Tolerances
Precise specifications on finishing requirements (e.g., anodizing, powder coating, polishing) and dimensional tolerances to ensure proper fit and function within assembly constraints.
Ensuring Accuracy in Manufacturing Quotes
By compiling this detailed specification package, manufacturers can provide more precise tooling and per-unit cost estimates while minimizing potential discrepancies or misinterpretations. Well-documented specifications reduce the risk of production errors, unexpected cost overruns, or rework requirements.
Furthermore, these documents serve as a contractual reference throughout the manufacturing process, ensuring consistency in quality and execution. Our structured approach to specification sheet creation facilitates clear communication between product designers and manufacturers, ultimately streamlining the transition from product development to production.
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DesignStein FAQs
The Industrial Designers Society of America defines industrial design as “…the professional practice of designing products, devices, objects, and services used by millions of people around the world every day.” This definition goes on to say that “industrial designers typically focus on the physical appearance, functionality, and manufacturability of a product, though they are often involved in far more during a development cycle.” (See their full definition here).
While this is an accurate description of what industrial design is, for obvious reasons it does not address the deeper element of successful industrial design: The Industrial Design Process. This is what DesignStein excels at. We adhere to what we consider the Three Pillars for successful product design: Communication, Constructive Feedback, and Industry Expertise. We have nearly two decades of experience designing products across multiple industries. Our multi-industry experience gives us broader design perspectives, allowing us to think outside the box and apply creative solutions that other ‘specialty’ product design companies may not consider for your product. We execute an established methodology that ensures your product design goals are achieved, and combine it with a collaborative approach that ensures we are in lockstep with our clients from beginning to end.
To reference the definition from our friends at The Industrial Designers Society of America, who classify the industrial design process as follows: “Every object that you interact with on a daily basis in your home, office, school, or public setting is the result of a design process. During this process, myriad decisions are made by an industrial designer (and their team) that are aimed at improving your life through well-executed design.”
The difference in product design companies in Orange County lies in the decisions that are made during the process of industrial design, from how sketches are created to thinking through the engineering and manufacturing considerations during CAD design, considering whether the product will stand up to the real world during the 3D modeling process, looking beyond aesthetics during prototyping, and even how to scale for lean, repeatable manufacturing and distribution.
This is where DesignStein Studios, a product design and development company in California, provides the best value for our clients. We follow our Three Pillars for successful industrial product design: Communication, Constructive Feedback, and Industry Expertise. Our established industrial design process is summarized as a combination of research, sketches, 3D CAD, 3D Renderings, prototyping, specifications, IP strategy, manufacturing and quality control, which you can learn more about in detail on our Services page. Want more? Check out our YouTube channel for videos that highlight our processes using specific case studies!
DesignStein Studios assists companies with applying, filing, and ultimately obtaining patents for your product design through consultation or recommending attorneys who specialize in industrial design and intellectual property (we’re really good at this). To mitigate the risk of product counterfeits or stolen IP, we can help you execute a supplier diversification strategy that separates various manufacturing and distribution responsibilities across multiple production groups. This is a difficult strategy to execute, but we are experts at it, and it is worth the effort if you want to mitigate the risk of someone counterfeiting your product design.
The short answer is yes, we do. We don’t simply make your product look pretty; we get inside of it and thoughtfully position internal components, mechanical systems, or whatever else makes up the ‘guts’ of your product to ensure reliability and manufacturability. When we combine your industry expertise with our vast expertise in product design services in Orange County across virtually every industry — from mechanical devices to electronics to soft goods — the result is not simply a beautiful product design that improves lives, but one that is also easily manufacturable at the best possible cost.
DesignStein Studios has helped many of its clients secure reliable manufacturers who have integrity and keep your IP private to prevent counterfeiting. We do much more than simply provide a manufacturing resource, though.
To ensure your products are made right and work as intended, DesignStein creates your product design specifications for dimensions, material types, best practices for manufacturing, and component specs before any manufacturing commitments are made. This process ensures that manufacturers have everything they need to provide accurate tooling estimates. We are prepared to go where you need us to go, anywhere in the world, to make sure the standards we set to manufacture your product are met. We perform live inspections, ensure pre-established quality control processes are executed, and review the process of shipping to your distribution channels, all of which validate that your products are produced properly and get where they need to go on time and on budget.
We further protect your IP through a sophisticated process of supplier diversification. Our approach to selecting a manufacturer and suppliers for our clients creates peace of mind on two fronts: It protects the intellectual property inside your product, and delivers confidence that your product will be manufactured on time to an exacting standard.
DesignStein Studios can help you source component suppliers. We have an established process for helping our clients secure component suppliers that promises long-term component availability and protects the intellectual property behind your product design to prevent counterfeiting. We diversify our clients’ supply chain and create distinct component supply channels so that your IP remains discrete. This complex process of eliminating component supplier amalgamation is proven to safeguard your products from copycats.
DesignStein Studios uses SOLIDWORKS to create 3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) models of your product. We have decades of experience with CAD design, which, when combined with our background designing products in multiple industries, allows us to consider your product design beyond the aesthetic. We factor in all the things that will improve the lives of your customers, and all the elements that are required to make the product manufacturable at scale.
DesignStein Studios has deep experience in consumer electronics, mechanical products, military and self-defense products, personal products, healthcare products, cut-and-sew soft goods, children’s toys, and pet products. We have experience designing products for multiple industries, which sets our product design firm in California apart from other industrial design companies. Our expertise designing products across multiple industries allows us to think outside the box, enabling us to provide product design concepts that exceed many of our clients’ expectations.