How long does hardware development take?

It depends on scope: a product with a new enclosure, new electronics, firmware, an app and certification takes much longer than a variation of an existing design. The longest items are usually tooling and certification, so start them early.

What is the most common reason for delay?

Late changes to the specification after the design is frozen, and certification found to be needed after the enclosure is built.

Where does most of the cost sit?

In engineering across several disciplines and in tooling. Both are one-time costs paid before the first unit ships.

Should the app be developed with the hardware?

Yes. Firmware, app and server depend on each other, and developing them separately is where integration problems appear.

Hardware Product Development: Seven Stages From Concept to Mass Production

Every hardware project runs through the same stages, whatever the product. Knowing them lets you see where a quote or a schedule is missing something.

1. Requirements and feasibility

Target market, price band, features, certifications and constraints are written down. The outcome is an architecture proposal, a component direction and a cost envelope. Time spent here is the cheapest time in the project.

2. Industrial design and structure

The shape, materials, finish and internal layout are designed together with the electronics, because the battery, antenna and microphones decide how much room there is.

3. Electronics and firmware

Schematic, PCB layout, component choice and the embedded software. Power, radio and audio problems are found here when the hardware and the firmware are in the same team.

4. App and server

The phone app, the cloud service, device activation and updates. These are often scoped last and discovered to be the largest part.

5. Prototype and EVT

First units prove the design. Changes are expected and cheap compared with later stages. See EVT, DVT and PVT.

6. Tooling, DVT and certification

Moulds are committed, reliability tests run and certification begins. Tooling and certification have the longest lead times in the project, so they run in parallel instead of in sequence.

7. PVT and mass production

The real line proves it can build the product repeatedly. Production tests, packaging and shipping are released.

Where time and money get lost

Changing the specification after the design is frozen.
Starting certification after the enclosure is built.
Scoping the app and the server late.
Skipping validation builds to save a few weeks.

How we run it

At 3CBAY we work through the early stages together with you and produce samples along the way. Industrial design, structure, hardware, firmware, app, server and production are one team. Details are on the services page and the demo to production page.

Planning a product? Tell us what you are building.