209: Materials Research for Consumer Product Design

With Ori Yudilevich, CTO of Materials Zone

Hosted by Kevin Mako, President of MAKO Design + Invent

Ori Yudilevich is the CTO of Materials Zone, a materials information platform for hardware product development. He has a Ph.D. in Mathematics in the field of differential geometry and served as a Lecturer in the realm of higher education for over 15 years before transitioning into the industry. Today, Ori will share valuable knowledge for inventors, startups, and small manufacturers on why materials research is so important to the hardware product design process, burgeoning trends in materials science, and how to ensure you select the right materials to streamline manufacturing and maximize the efficacy of product marketing.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode:

• Materials are in everything!
• The product development process for all products requires a lot of research into materials.
• Materials research is core to achieving progress with your invention idea.
• Materials selection is an integral component of hardware development and is often overlooked by non-designers.
• Materials selection is much like selecting ingredients when cooking. You can cut corners to minimize cost, but it will ultimately be noticeable to the consumers!
• How to choose materials that best align with your product’s purpose and the process of making those materials.
• Materials are evolving, so it is important to remain up-to-date on the best materials available today.
• Sustainable materials selection is a big trend right now!
• Your customers are looking at what your product is made of, so carefully thought-out materials selection will boost its success beyond the manufacturing process.
• The supply chain is a critical consideration, so it is best to choose materials that have supply flexibility.
• Researching materials regulations according to your location is key, as certain rules need to be adhered to depending on the country you are selling in.
• Think of materials selection from a manufacturing perspective and a product sales (customer) perspective.

Ori Yudilevich Links:

LinkedIn | Materials Zone

The Product Startup Podcast Links:

https://www.ProductStartup.com/

Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook Page | Facebook Group | Pinterest | Twitter

MAKO Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com

YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

Kevin Mako Links:

Instagram | LinkedIn | Quora | Facebook | Twitter

Producer: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to the above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories.