Materials research

✅ Why this step strengthens every part of your product

The materials you choose shape how your product looks, feels, works—and lasts.

Materials Research is more than just picking plastic vs. metal. It’s a structured review of what will deliver the performance, durability, finish, and environmental profile you need. This step helps you avoid downstream issues like deformation, cracking, cost blowouts, or sustainability conflicts.

It's about making confident, context-based choices.

📘 What you’ll learn

  • Which materials best suit your functional, aesthetic, and environmental goals
  • How materials impact weight, strength, tooling, and cost
  • What trade-offs exist between options (e.g. PP vs. ABS, aluminium vs. zinc)
  • How to align materials with your chosen manufacturing methods

🛠️ Tools and methods

  • Material Requirement Grid

    List what each part needs (e.g. flex, food-safe, UV resistant, low cost).

  • Material Shortlist Matrix

    Compare 2–3 candidate materials across criteria like strength, cost, finish, availability, sustainability.

  • Sample & Test

    Request datasheets and small quantities from suppliers to assess feel, processability, and risk.

  • Process-Material Fit Check

    Confirm your material choice aligns with moulding, machining, bonding, or finishing processes.

⚠️ Watch-outs

  • Picking for looks only. Form matters, but strength, friction, and cost matter more.
  • Not thinking at part level. Different parts may need different materials—group them smartly.
  • Forgetting regulatory needs. Medical? Electrical? Kid-safe? Choose accordingly.
  • Ignoring MOQ and lead time. A perfect material that takes 14 weeks to ship isn’t viable.

💡 Materials insight

“We changed one cover from PC to PP—and cut tooling cost by 40%. Same look, easier to process.”

– Product Engineer, Sustainability Startup

💡 Use a “materials first” prototype—just shapes and materials, no working parts—to test feel, fit, and perception.

🔗 Helpful links & resources

✍️ Quick self-check

  • Have we defined what each part needs from its material?
  • Have we explored more than one option per key part or function?
  • Are our materials compatible with the chosen processes and finishes?
  • Have we confirmed supplier availability, cost, and lead time?

🎨 Visual concept (optional)

Illustration: A table showing samples of 4 materials (e.g., ABS, PP, Aluminium, Rubber) with labeled tags: “impact resistant”, “food safe”, “UV stable”, “low cost”. A team member cross-checks with a spreadsheet while another is flexing a sample. Sticky note reads: “Test bond with adhesive X.”

Visual shows how structured materials research helps translate design intent into reliable, manufacturable parts.
Scroll to Top