Zeb Pitch

ZebulonSolutions, LLC

On ProductizationZebulon Solutions, LLC


www.zebulonsolutions.com

Productization

Definition:Productization is the process of transitioning products out of the R&D lab and into stable manufacturing



About Zebulon Solutions, LLC

Founded in 2009 Acquired Technical Mandala, a Colorado design services

company specializing in electronics design, in 2012 2100 sq. ft. office / lab in Longmont, CO Global customer base

• From startups to billion dollar multinationals Team averages 20 years of industry experience with 100+

successful production launches under our collective belts



Productization services

Design

Reverse Engineering

Industrialization

Supply Chain

Test

Redesign

Strategy

ProductionConcept



Design

Zebulon Solutions can do the full design, take on a small piece or subsystem, or do the grunt work at the end to finalize the design. In all cases we do everything with an eye toward manufacturability, supply chain and cost. Design services:

• Concept design• Systems architecture and engineering• Detailed designo Electrical / Mechanicalo Software / Firmwareo Mechatronics

• Design finalization• Prototyping and pretesting• Design Failure Mode Effects Analysis (DFMEA)



Redesign

Products often need to be redesigned for cost, functionality, or manufacturability reasons Cost isn’t the only parameter, but it is a big one Analysis

• DFx: Design for Manufacturing / Assembly / Test / etc.• Independent Design Assessment• Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA)• Tolerance analysis

Redesign• Cost downs• Proactive or reactive• Board, subsystem or complete product



Reverse engineering

Analyzing competitors’ products to understand performance, cost and supply chain. Teardown services include:

• Teardowns• Reverse engineering• Supply chain reconstructions

Teardowns can be used to analyze the competition, avoiding IP issues, and even to bring in buy subsystems



Industrialization

Industrialization is at the core of productization, the optimization of the processes, testing and tools that will be used to manufacture the product Design validation testing

• Environmental and life testing• Regulatory and safety

Tooling Production test development Supply chain development Contract manufacturer selection Process optimization Process validation testing



Supply chain

The supply chain should be designed into the product, not optimized after the design is complete

It’s called a supply chain for a reason Cost is only one piece of the puzzle. Other supply chain drivers:

• Where do the key components come from?• Where will the product be shipped?• Upside and downside volumes protection• IP risks

Supply chain services:• Supply chain setup• Qualifying vendors• Selecting manufacturers



Test

A test strategy is needed early on• Where, when, how, and especially why to test• Tradeoff upfront DVT testing vs. ongoing production testing• Subsystem level test also needs to be considered

Test services• Design validation testing (DVT)oPretestingoProgram manage full DVT

• Production test developmento Test requirements generationo Test system developmentoGauge R&R



Process optimization

PVT is way too late to start on process optimization… The cost of process change for medical devices is

extremely high Process development should commence all the way back

in the design phase Use PFMEAs to find issues Product specific Use pretesting to find

issues Supply chain needs to be

taken into account tooCourtesy of Vergent Products



Design For Excellence (DFx)

DFx is a key part of productization, but it needs to be done concurrent to design, not as a checklist after the fact DFx covers all the design fors:

• DFM: Design for Manufacturing• DFA: Design for Assembly• DFE: Design for Environment• DFT: Design for Test• DFT: Design for Regulatory• Etc.

DFx should be baked into the process But it also helps to have an extra set of eyes



Process Validation Testing (PVT)

While regulatory requirements tend to drive PVT for medical devices, there are more mundane issues to address as well A device may indeed be certified on a process that is certified and

still be problematic, expensive or both Process validation is more that just “run three batches” Issues to consider (and solve):

• Yield• Early failure detection• Costs• Labor content• Throughput• Inventory stacking up

Courtesy of Vergent Products



Other productization tasks

Product redesign for manufacturability / assembly / testability

Manufacturing strategy development Cost reduction redesigns Contract manufacturer selection Packout design and testing Software / firmware testing



Strategy

Zebulon Solutions complements its hands-on engineering and supply chain expertise with big-picture strategic consulting and even fractional executive services



Example: Inventory Management System

Scope: Strategic manufacturing

consulting Fractional VP of

Engineering Failure analysis Manage regulatory testing Status

• Supporting investor discussion this week

• Ongoing strategic support Future tasks

• Complete redesign• Supply chain optimization



Example: In-line Analytic Instrument

Scope: Design of all PCBAs Electronics systems

engineering PCBA testing and

prototyping Status

• Ongoing testing• Redesign in

progress to add new features



Example: Optical Touch Panel

Scope: Fractional VP

Engineering for 9 months

On-site systems engineer

Electronics / firmware optimization

Tolerance analysis Production test

development Status

• Unfortunately the customer went Chapter 7



Example: Cleantech Flow Battery

Scope: Strategic

manufacturing consulting

Process optimization Supply chain

optimization Generated and

managed RFQ process to select a contract manufacturer

Status• CM selection within

two weeks Future tasks

• Manage NPI process



Example: RV Aftermarket Accessory

Scope: Teardown of

electronics subsystem• Developed skeletal

BOM• Costed out the BOM

Tested system to recreate performance specs• Electronics• Firmware

Status• Testing in progress

Future tasks• Rewrite software• Redo PCBA design



Example: Baby Product

Scope: Started as design

finalization• Added draft to plastics• DFM analysis

Expanded to include • Extensive pretesting against

ASTM safety standards• Redesign of key components• Generated 2D drawings and

complete BOM• Qualified offshore tool shop

and molding operation• Managed the tool builds

Status• In production



Example: Satellite Internet

Scope: Teardown 8

satellite internet systems

Includes 26 GHz technology

Developed:• skeletal BOMs• block diagrams • process flows

Provided analysis Status

• Complete


Thanks

For more information on productization, see our productization blog at

www.zebulonsolutions.com/productizationblog/


http://www.zebulonsolutions.com/

Zeb Pitch

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