Damvig delivers time to market on the football pitch
Enhanced global competition, shorter product cycles and disruptive technological quantum leaps all put added pressure on firms as regards time to market: you have to be increasingly innovative and constantly deliver new solutions. Read about an innovative Danish product with a large global potential which Damvig helped to develop at record speed.
Limited resources, capacity and competences mean that few firms can afford lengthy development processes when converting ideas into end-products. Damvig’s experienced 3D printing specialists have the skills to help all types of businesses with fast, quality-based prototype development at all stages from the initial idea to the end-product.
Traditional innovation is expensive
Traditional innovation, product adaptation and preparation for market is generally an expensive, time-consuming and risky process. This is mainly because of the heavy start-up costs and the lengthy process often associated with classical product development. If something goes wrong in the prototype phase or innovation is delayed, development costs soar and no revenue flows in.
Many firms are reluctant to take on that risk, and consequently many potentially ground-breaking products do not make it past the idea phase. If the development phase can be shortened and the process from idea to product streamlined, product innovation offers huge competitive advantages.
3D printing eliminates many of the constraints that have impeded innovation. 3D creates a fast-track solution that allows firms to progress rapidly from idea to product without taking on major risks. Minimal start-up costs, small series, new materials and flexible functionality are among the obvious advantages of 3D printing. So, in the right quality and with the necessary expertise at hand, 3D printing speeds up product development considerably.
Compared with traditional production, 3D printing offers all types of businesses the opportunity to assess the market potential of a new product much faster and more realistically.
Wireless football recordings
Fewer than 1% of all football matches are filmed. Expensive TV equipment, historical reasons and conventional thinking are the main reasons why recordings of passes, dribbles and goals have been restricted to relatively few world stars and major clubs.
But with the strong increase in bandwidth, better wireless coverage and improved recording quality, the Danish software firm VEO saw a market for recording the many “invisible” training and football matches. By filming e.g. lower-ranking teams and talented youth players, clubs could improve their talent development. And subsequently the recordings could be viewed and analysed so that coaches and players could improve their skills, attitudes and results.
VEO had an ambition to develop an intelligent digital camera. The camera was to be mounted on a tall stick at the sideline just before the referee’s initial whistle or at the beginning of the training session.
From a position with a good view, it was to record matches and training sessions in a high resolution and with 180° panning and send the sequences wirelessly without the need of cables, transmitter cars and camera operators. It should have a battery time of 6 hours, and via algorithms the camera was automatically to follow the position of the ball and the running patterns of the players.
Damvig ensured a high quality, low price and short time to market
It was vital that the camera was inexpensive, simple to install and easy to operate via a smartphone. It had to function easily and smoothly and be waterproof so that it could be used in all weather conditions. Without a solid casing in the right quality and price and with the required new functionality, the VEO vision would not come true.
Although the VEO product was simple, it had to be robust, versatile and affordable. And last but not least: it was to be marketed rapidly and in a good quality. Damvig has more than 20 years’ experience in fast development and manufacture of advanced, innovative 3D printing solutions for all types of products – from simple everyday articles to sophisticated solutions. That is why VEO contacted Damvig.
Damvig was an active sparring partner who understood our ideas and provided constructive assistance throughout the product development phase. While the product was being developed and in the subsequent adaptation process, they helped us and ensured a short time to market. This meant that we were able to introduce the product to potential customers fast and bring invoicing forward, says CEO Henrik Theisbæk, VEO.
VEO consists of a group of software programmers with solid programming skills, but with limited knowledge about hardware, materials and practical functionality. VEO needed a partner that could ensure speedy development of the prototype for the camera’s casing so that it could be thoroughly tested and adapted. This was a precondition for rapidly achieving the required quality so that the solution could be scaled up at the global level.
Flexibility without major capital investments
Damvig assisted VEO at all stages so that the functionality, quality and design of the product met all VEO’s requirements and expectations. Besides playing a major role during the development phase, Damvig was also a decisive factor in the subsequent production of the camera casings.
Damvig’s high degree of flexibility and state-of-the-art production facilities ensure stability, quality and supplies. That makes it easy and simple for us to scale our business. We just send forecasts to Damvig and within a short time we receive exactly the number of camera casings that we need to fulfil our contracts with customers. So we have a minimum of capital tied up in stocks, and we have not had to make large start-up investments, which is often the case in connection with conventional production, says Henrik Theisbæk.
Today more than 300 clubs in Denmark and abroad use the innovative VEO product. Thanks to sparring with Damvig during all phases from idea to end-product, the project succeeded in record time.
For further information, see www.veo.com
The customer needed a 3D-printed prototype for development of a camera casing for recording football matches. Along the way, the customer was convinced that it would be possible to manufacture camera casings serially via 3D printing. This meant that sales of cameras to end-users could begin at a very early stage of the process, while the final development was still in progress. In that way the firm could generate vital revenue during the development phase, thereby ensuring the success of the project.
