209: Materials Research for Consumer Product Design

Jan 12, 2024

Ori Yudilevich, CTO of Materials Zone, discusses the importance of materials research in hardware product design, current trends in materials science, and how to select the right materials for manufacturing and marketing. Materials impact functionality, efficiency, and design. Staying updated on the latest technologies, sustainability, and supply chain problems is crucial. Material Zone is a platform for connecting procurement data and aiding material selection.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

The Importance of Materials in Product Development

02:37 • 3min

Trends in Materials and their Impact on Product Development

05:54 • 3min

The Role of Materials in Product Design and Introduction of Material Zone

08:38 • 4min

The Value of Materials Research in Consumer Product Design

12:55 • 2min

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/

Mako Design Links:

https://www.makodesign.com/

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.