What could warrent that kind of ticket?
It looks nice but sheesh!
Leaf Personal Light: It’s an LED lamp.
It was the winner in the ID 53rd Annual Design Review.
Because it is a piece of “design historyâ€? To someone more so than the final mass produced version because it also communicates “process”?
When you invest 20 million into a products development, a $30,000-$40,000 prototype is very important and much warranted to test a products function. In some programs you may create five or six of these types of prototypes. Continually improving different aspects of the product and moving closer to production and tooling geometry. Perhaps not 5 or 6 for a task light, but for sure a task chair.
I understand, but according to the article they didn’t have the order yet. Herman Miller gave a “mini assaignment” and at first it was on hold in '02. They brought it back and lost interest again. They turned a small exploratory project into a massive one. They had to sell the 30K prototype to them and luckily they brought it.
I understand, but according to the article they didn’t have the order yet. Herman Miller gave a “mini assaignment” and at first it was on hold in '02. They brought it back and lost interest again. They turned a small exploratory project into a massive one. They had to sell the 30K prototype to them and luckily they brought it.
boy am i off?
i assumed they were selling a prototype to the masses. wtf.
But it is an appropriate price for a working prototype.
The prototype must have been made here in the states for that kind of bill.
You can buy a nice car for that amount.
It seems high to me for a pitch.
Where is this article?
it is in the ID 53rd Annual Design Review pg 66.
Ahhhh…that would explain why I am a bit lost on this conversation.
My guess is that the $30K comes from the fact that some degree of tooling is required for creating a sheet metal prototype. Not cheap…even in china.
Add on to that the hourly rate that fuseproject charges to manage the process. $30K adds up quickly.
That kind of cost for a proto makes sense if they have a level of confidence that this thing will sell. This sounds a bit like a product that flopped so they spun it into an “art piece” using Behar’s status as leverage.
I need to go read the article.
“Add on to that the hourly rate that fuseproject charges to manage the process. $30K adds up quickly.”
Fuseproject went at this by themselves. They didn’t charge anyone atleast what I gather from the article. They said a 30K prototype ONLY.
Someone got milked and was tooken for a ride I suspect if that doesn’t include freelance help Fuseproject may have used.
would a sheet metal prototype,LED bulbs, plastic cover, fasteners really cost that kind of money?
“Add on to that the hourly rate that fuseproject charges to manage the process. $30K adds up quickly.”
Fuseproject went at this by themselves. They didn’t charge anyone atleast what I gather from the article. They said a 30K prototype ONLY.
Someone got milked and was tooken for a ride I suspect if that doesn’t include freelance help Fuseproject may have used.
would a sheet metal prototype,LED bulbs, plastic cover, fasteners really cost that kind of money?
As I recall from either a collegue or an article I read (can’t remember at this point) the engineering and everything was part of the design process. SUPPOSEDLY there is some proprietary engineering in that thing too…but I don’t have a clue if that is true or to what degree.
Let’s assume it is true. You have to add into the proto costs the engineering of the PCB and electronics, sourcing of the boards, assembly of the boards, etc.
I agree $30K sounds high…but I can see it adding up to that depending on how it is done. I wouldn’t have blinked if it was $20K.
When I read the article (a month or so ago) I thought it said the reason for the high prototyping expense was in the development of the ‘special’ LED used…it gives a wider and softer spectrum…or something like that. Either way, I saw the leaf in the moma design shop and was a bit dissapointed (it doesn’t really articulate smoothly) so I think I’ll stick with the $20 ikea lamp with a CFL.
Ah it depends there might be a fuse project admin charge to it, thought based on pure materials it is too much, I am thinking closer to 5-10k if done in china. Also it depends on the electronics as well, my electrical engineer tells me PCBs are made as final cuts close to production run, they dont prototype PCBs, like we prototype housings.
So it all does add up.
Ultimately though, if you look at the big picture, if you are spending half a million on tooling, a 30K proof of concept does make sense.
$30k for a working prototype sounds about right. I’m not surprised at all.