The March 26, 2019 online edition of MD+DI Components features Are Your Volume-Saving Price Predictions Reasonable? by Starfis Medical Team Lead Mechanical Engineering, Nigel Syrotuck. Subtitled “A brief look at common processes for part production and their approximate cost-savings across low to high volumes“, the article helps demystify the impact of volume on the price of parts.
“While each product development program is wonderfully unique, some very general cost-per-part guidelines are true for all electro-mechanical medical device components. This guide, and the associated discussion after, are intended to provide a very general idea of volume pricing for a given process. Estimates can be refined fairly easily by asking vendors for projected pricing estimates once later-stage prototyping begins. Note that labor and part handling are not considered in any way.”
Syrotuck concludes the article noting: “Utilizing higher-volume processes in the detailed prototype phase (after early product definition but well before pre-production design) may result in higher device costs up front, but those parts will see an effortless drop in per-part cost in higher volume without any changes to the design needed. This is a trade-off: in the plus column, this means no re-engineering, re-testing, or letters to file required, but in the negative column, you may be requiring more capital than required. The best advice is to make a conscious, informed decision when developing your unit cost per milestone plan to achieve the right targets for your unique product.”