Making your product more safe, durable, cost efficient or just cooler are always great ways to stay ahead of the curve and offer more value than your competitors.
Having manufactured thousands of products as the go-to white label solution for some of the world’s biggest brands, we know a few technological hacks that could help increase your product’s success during its next run:
1) MAKE IT SAFER: If you’re making an item that needs an added layer of protection or functionality, thermoforming is a fantastic way to help it withstand impact and stress. This manufacturing process heats a plastic sheet into a pliable form and stretches it onto a mold. While this might sound complicated, high-tech machines like those on our manufacturing floor at CustomFab USA allow us to produce large volumes of custom thermoformed shapes to be used as protection, casing, labels, flare or added durability.
2) MAKE IT STRONGER: Want a piece of tactical gear, or sports luggage to withstand an active lifestyle? Then making sure you have the right fabrics for the job is key. Ask yourself what type of environment and people your product is for and calibrate your fabric choice from there. For instance 1000D Cordura might be a better choice than a 1050d ballistic nylon if you’re looking for a fabric with better abrasion resistance. However, if you care more about a product withstanding a tear, then ballistic nylon could be the better choice. A fabric strength is a different measurement than its denier (d) and is dependent on the types of weaves being used and the manufacturer. There are even some crazy futuristic fabrics on the market such as superfabric hypalon or Dinema, which is stronger than steel. Of course every fabric comes with its benefits and drawbacks so consult one of our experts to figure out if there’s one that will suit your product best.
MAKE IT FOR LESS: Oftentimes a small design change can save money. For instance, seam taping edges as opposed to stitching them from the inside and outside will save time on the manufacturing floor. The key to discovering savings is knowing what’s possible with automation before designing a product so that design can be incorporated into the production process. The best way to do this is to ask if you can you make the construction of the product more automatic? If you’re not sure, come by our 77,000 square foot lean manufacturing facility to see what sort of automation is available.
MAKE IT COOLER: It’s the details that create the big picture. Sometimes spending a few extra cents on a hardware detail such as a high-end magnetic snap or unique zipper will have a resonating impact on the customer’s relationship with your product. For the best ROI, identify what part of your product a customer will have the most frequent interaction with and ask yourself or a manager at CustomFab USA’s R&D department how it might be improved.
If you’re looking for other tips or low hanging fruit on how to give your product a better advantage, talk to the contract sewing experts at our R&D department or make an appointment and visit our manufacturing facility to get inspired.
Have some great production ideas of your own? Please share in the comments below!