It takes advanced planning and an understanding of patent law basics to determine the best answer to the question: Do you need a patent application prototype?

Before examining the benefits of short-run production, it is essential to understand that this does not necessarily refer to time or even specific quantities. The term applies to manufacturing bursts, such as for seasonal products, prototype development, or be used when raw material costs fall to a point where it makes financial sense to produce an item for wider margins rapidly. These, when combined with modern digital technology, have served to make short production runs highly beneficial.

Specs look fine on paper, but when it comes to product proposals, nothing beats a fine-tuned, digital representation. Like any new tool, much confusion still exists around what digital fabrication means as a manufacturing process. This agile manufacturing process possesses a range of benefits that makes it an ideal choice for creating visual models or product prototypes. The drawbacks to digital fabrication, such as steep software learning curves or the limited production volumes, are easily outweighed by the numerous advantages.

As you research the advantages of lean manufacturing principles, the term “5S” will appear. The 5S practices in manufacturing is a collection of protocols that serve to reduce time and waste in manufacturing. Stemming from Henry Ford’s CANDO system, 5S is a Toyota-based methodology that is still very much in use today. As the name indicates, this practical approach to lean manufacturing can be broken down into five pieces: sort, set, shine, standardize, and sustain.

The solutions to problems encountered during the transition to lean manufacturing cannot be generalized, as every organization has its own unique set of challenges and operating specifications. There are, however, several important lean manufacturing best practices that can establish a solid production baseline to utilize when fully preparing a product line for lean manufacturing.