At Trans-Matic, we’ve provided metal stamping solutions for over 50 years. This experience gives us the knowledge and skills required to help customers across a wide range of industries conceptualize their products based on their design needs. We maintain a dedicated advanced product development (APD) team that focuses on gaining familiarity with the specifications and standards of customers’ products so we can offer assistance throughout the development process. We can play a significant role in simplifying the design and/or reducing the cost of challenging parts and products that are typically made from traditional cast or machined components. Sometimes this means combining multiple parts into one stamped part.
Below, we provide an overview of advanced product development at Trans-Matic, highlighting its key benefits and common processes.
Benefits of Advanced Product Development
There are many benefits to partnering with a manufacturer that offers advanced product development capabilities, especially if you’re looking to produce a highly challenging component or assembly. Since advanced product development draws on value add (VA) or value engineering (VE)—i.e., VA/VE—principles it can often lead to the following:
- Improved product quality and/or enhanced product performance
- Simplified product design and/or manufacturing process
- Increased cost-effectiveness in product manufacturing operations
- Continued improvement and innovation regarding the manufacturing process
Some examples of typical advanced product development projects include:
- Simplifying the design of a three-part assembly into a single piece
- Converting a part that is machined to one that is deep drawn
- Converting a part that is die-cast and machined to one that is deep drawn and machined
- Converting a part that is machined to one that is deep drawn and threaded
Common Advanced Product Development Processes
Advanced product development projects may involve many manufacturing and manufacturing support processes, such as simulation, reverse engineering, product engineering and development, and of course deep draw stamping. Throughout all of these processes, the APD team uses VA/VE principles to guide them toward a suitable solution for the manufacturing challenge (e.g., converting a multi-part design to a single stamped part or replacing cast or machine part designs with a stamped one). Let’s take a closer look at some of these processes.
Deep Drawing
The reason Trans-Matic exists. Deep drawing can be used for advanced product development projects since it allows for the creation of simple or complex components in various sizes. This metal forming process uses a punch and die to shape a cylindrical piece into a box, cone, cup, or tube-shaped component that strengthens the part through each station of the process.
Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering enables manufacturers to reduce or eliminate parts from the assembly so they can create more reliable and affordable components. It often focuses on decreasing material utilization, increasing part strength, and/or removing the need for secondary processing operations.
Product Engineering and Development
Product engineering and development operations focus on creating new product designs or modifying existing product designs to align with design for manufacturability (DFM) practices. They follow the design process from ideation to development to ensure the final design can be prototyped and validated for manufacturing.
Why Partner with Trans-Matic?
At Trans-Matic, we are committed to providing innovative engineering solutions that improve product quality and performance while reducing manufacturing costs. This dedication is underscored by our receipt of three Higgins Awards for innovative design and development of new, cost-effective products from the Precision Metalforming Association. We will work closely with you to understand your unique needs and find the solution that meets them. Our design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities will help you bring your ideas to life.
To learn more about our advanced product development services and how we can help you, contact us today.