Consumer product design involves navigating numerous obstacles. Autodesk Fusion simplifies the process by enhancing ideation, collaboration, and production efficiency to bring products to market faster.

Designing consumer products can often be a tough, complex journey full of obstacles. From ideation to the final product, designers need to blend creativity with practicality, all while racing against tight deadlines and sticking to budgets. The market is extremely competitive, pushing companies to constantly innovate and produce top-notch products that consumers will love. On top of that, rising costs, changing consumer tastes, and the push for sustainability add extra layers of difficulty. These challenges can drag out the time it takes to get a product from concept to market, making efficiency and smooth teamwork essential for success.

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Let’s dive into industry trends and how Autodesk Fusion can help you shrink lengthy design processes down to a more manageable timeline, so that you can get your products to market faster.

Industry trends and drivers in consumer product design

In today’s fast-paced consumer product industry, companies face a number of challenges that threaten their ability to stay ahead in the market. Intense competition and the ever-increasing need for innovation have left 94% of global executives feeling dissatisfied with their business performance. This struggle is compounded by financial hurdles, with 72% of products failing to meet profitability targets and nearly half of all new products facing delays.

At the same time, rising costs and inflation are changing consumer behavior, as people become more focused on health and sustainability. Fifty-nine percent of consumers are now willing to boycott brands that don’t take climate action seriously. Even more, despite the promise of digital transformation, 67% of business leaders express dissatisfaction with their progress. Smart home appliances are also becoming commonplace, and the rapid growth of e-commerce is intensifying competition. Navigating these challenges requires agility and a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics.

How Autodesk Fusion can help reduce time to market for consumer product design

Fusion is a unified solution that connects people, data, and processes, streamlines product development, and enables companies to innovate and bring products to market quickly. Let’s dive into 3 ways to make consumer product design less time-consuming.

Faster ideation

Early ideation is critical for identifying which designs work well and which don’t. Fusion offers tools like freeform modeling, which allows for the rapid creation of organic shapes. Designers can quickly create and modify shapes, ensuring that their designs are G2 surface continuous for smooth transitions. This tool is perfect for industrial designers who need to make significant changes swiftly.

Fusion also includes a number of simulation tools, including injection molding simulation and finite element analysis. Designers can ensure performance and manufacturability, reducing the likelihood of costly late-state design changes.

Generative design in Fusion uses AI to create optimized designs based on specified constraints and loads. Designers can explore multiple design options quickly, ensuring that the final product meets all requirements and is produced efficiently.

Better collaboration

Effective collaboration is a must for multidisciplinary teams. Fusion boosts collaboration by allowing users to share files via unique URLs, accessible on any device. Team members can view, comment, and mark up designs, regardless of their location or device.

Fusion also offers built-in data management, providing change management and history tracking. This eliminates the chaos of managing files in multiple disconnected solutions, ensuring that team members always have access to the latest versions and can collaborate seamlessly.

Project details in Fusion alllows users to see recent activities, who worked on what, and the changes made. This transparency fosters better collaboration, making sure that everyone is on the same page.

Smoother handoff to production

A smoother handoff to production can significantly reduce time to market. Fusion integrates design, analysis, and manufacturing data into one platform. Users can create toolpaths and simulate manufacturing processes directly within the same tool.

For example, designers can create molds for injection molding, simulate toolpaths, and post-process code to CNC machines. Fusion supports various manufacturing methods, including milling, hybrid manufacturing, and more, ensuring that designs are manufacturable and optimized for production.

Parametric modeling in Fusion allows for updates to designs, molds, and toolpaths, so that changes made in the design phase are reflected throughout the production process. This integration streamlines the handoff to manufacturing, reduces delays, and guarantees that products are produced efficiently.