In 2018, we received an inquiry from the R&D engineers at ‘Acclarent’, a company specializing in ENT medical products and part of the J&J medical conglomerate, to manufacture a prototype for a product designed to extract fluid accumulations from the sinuses. They were looking for a partner to support them throughout the prototype manufacturing process, from development to the design freeze stage. At the beginning, the product developers presented a work plan that was scheduled to take 24–36 months, during which a large number of iterations would be carried out until the product was finalized.
The collaborative work process involved a team of development engineers visiting our facility once a month for a week. During these visits, the models produced based on the previous meeting's planning were evaluated, and decisions were made regarding necessary improvements for the next iteration.
Each prototype manufacturing process included complex procedures such as laser cutting, laser welding, electrical wiring, surface treatments, laser marking, and CNC machining.
Every ten days, prototype models were sent to the company’s U.S. offices for QA testing. The feedback provided by the visiting development engineers led to upgrades and updates of the product plan.
Although the process was originally expected to take 24–36 months, it was significantly shortened to just ten months, thanks to our focused and efficient work, coupled with quick and effective production response times. This expedited the development process and reduced associated costs considerably.
By the end of the process, the product was ready for large-scale serial production.