SurfaceID Blog
Industrial Design & Mechanical Engineering
Industrial Design & Mechanical Engineering in Product Design
It is essential for industrial designers and mechanical engineers to work in harmony during the product development process. But how do they defer in their approaches to this discipline? In this article, we’ll let you know the similarities and the differences between...
Latest Industrial Design Trends for 2024
Industrial design is a field that is constantly evolving, especially as technology becomes more and more advanced. Here at SurfaceID, we are constantly keeping up-to-date with market trends. It ensures that we are designing products which are focused and relevant to...
Benefits of Hiring an Industrial Design Consultancy
Do you have an idea just ready to be developed? Or a complex problem that requires a quick solution? Let’s face it, launching a product is very hard! We know that it’s tempting to try and figure it out all by yourself. However, hiring an industrial design consultancy...
Sustainable Product Design Practices
Did you know that approximately 80% of product-related environmental impact is determined during the design phase? Industrial Designers hold a lot of environmental responsibility when designing new products. However, through thoughtful decision making, they can...
Sustainable Materials for Product Design
Have you been looking for a way to make your product more sustainable but don't know where to start? Or do you feel guilty whenever you throw something in the trash that you just know will end up in the landfill? We'd like to introduce you to some materials which can...
The cost of industrial design
Well, the most correct but annoying answer is: it depends! There is no fixed price for hiring an industrial design firm. It mostly depends on the scope of the project. Venous Light Medical Design Sketch Rendering What are we defining? Industrial design is a...
Sand casting at SurfaceID
In our previous post, we discussed the exclusive benefits of 3D printing and CNC machining. Another very important manufacturing method is sand casting. As the name suggests, a mold made of sand is used to cast metal into robust metal pieces. The sand is mixed with...
Virtual Reality and Industrial Design
Industrial design is about imagination, conception and ultimately, sharing a vision with the rest of the world. What if we could interact with it at the earliest stages? Ever since the release of the first HTC Vive in 2016, virtual reality is mainstream and we've been...
CNC Machining & 3D Printing
As product designers, customers constantly come to us urging us to manufacture products in-house through 3d printing. Everyone is going crazy for 3D-prints these days. And understandably so, it’s like Star Trek magic—to be able to input some data in the replicator,...
SurfaceID visited Shenzhen, China
Located in the very south of China, right next to Hong Kong, Shenzhen has become an important manufacturing hub for the world. Shenzhen's population has grown at an incredible rate throughout the years, climbing from just 30.000 people in the 1970s to over 17 million...
Mechanical Engineering at SurfaceID
While the CEO of SurfaceID's Montreal team is traditionally trained first and foremost in industrial design, the process of bringing a new invention from conception to manufacturing can't be done without going through a thorough and extensive mechanical engineering...
Choosing the right type of seals
When it comes to choosing the right seal type for a product, there are a few critical questions that should first be answered to avoid malfunctions. Depending on the particular seal's application, an incorrectly chosen seal can result in poor performing products,...
Prototyping with Vacuum Casting
This low budget method allows to very quickly produce many plastic replicas from the silicone mold of a master model. Generally used for prototyping, the possible use of different materials available for injection allows to precisely reproduce the shape, feel (and...
Understanding CAID (computer-aided industrial design)
What is computer-aided industrial design? Computer-aided industrial design (CAID) is simply the use of computerized software in the industrial design process. As opposed to traditional manual drafting, CAID is an automated process that greatly increases the efficiency...
Common Plastics in Industrial Design
Plastics come in all types. At SurfaceID, we use our experience in working with them to choose the best match for your project. Here are some of the most commonly used plastics. Polyolefin Includes Polypropylene (PP), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and High Density...
How to choose a supplier in China?
As an American or Canadian entrepreneur, choosing a supplier overseas can be a difficult and daunting task. We’re several thousand miles away, primarily English-speaking and largely unfamiliar with Chinese law, business practices and culture. So how can we possibly be...
Why U.S. Companies Should Design Their Products in Montreal, Canada
Designing a product in Montréal is a wise idea for any American firm wishing to exploit into a weak currency, benefit from tax credits and harness a diverse and highly skilled pool of industrial designers. This post elaborates on these four key reasons to take your inventions across the border.
Choosing a Manufacturing Process For a New Product
Before allocating any time and effort into creating your first 3D model for a new product, a manufacturing process should first be selected. This post outlines the many factors that should be considered when choosing the right process, such as costs, process capabilities, product aesthetics and more.
5 Brainstorming Tips For a Productive Session
When carried out effectively, brainstorming fosters innovative thinking and builds team cohesiveness. At SurfaceID, our industrial design team brainstorms around the whiteboard every Friday. Here are five brainstorming techniques that have proven to be successful for our design team.
New Product Manufacturing Processes, Techniques & Tools
This post will guide you through the most common manufacturing processes, techniques and tools you will encounter when getting a product manufactured. Depending on the product in question, CNC milling, sheet metal forming and progressive die stamping are just a few.
Product Prototyping: Types of Prototypes
There are several types of prototypes, including; breadboard prototypes, sketch models, appearance models, 3D prints and CNC prototypes. Knowing when to make each one primarily depends on where you are in the product development process.
Surface Finishing: Awesome Decorating Techniques
Color, texture, and protective qualities are a few factors typically considered when choosing the optimal surface finish for a product. However, if you wish to add some extra perks to your product’s outer shell, here are some excellent surface finishing decorating techniques.
When, Why and How to Create a Prototype?
Think you’re ready to create your first prototype? Based on years of expertise, this post outlines the importance of creating a prototype, at what stage in product development you should create your first prototype and what method should be utilized to create the prototype in question.
How to Get a New Product Manufactured?
There are many factors involved in getting a new product manufactured. Detailed design development, 3D development, prototyping and advanced engineering are a few critical components in the process that should be completed before entering the manufacturing phase. Our design process at SurfaceID helps illustrate these components.