Engineering is a complex process that turns creative, innovative, and sometimes revolutionary ideas into real, functional solutions. Whether it’s building a new quality management system, designing something as simple as a pet comb, or introducing a complex technology into advanced manufacturing, engineering plays a critical role in bringing ideas to light. It’s an exciting process, but it’s rarely a fast one. In today’s competitive product landscape, speed to market is often a top priority for inventors and investors alike. But engineering takes time, and that time isn’t wasted. Behind every delay, revision, and extra review is a reason rooted in reliability, safety, and long-term success.
In this blog, we’ll break down why engineering processes exist and why they often take longer than expected. Questions like “Why do we need drawings for a prototype?” or “Why is the planning phase taking so long?” come up all the time. Here, we’ll explain what’s really happening behind those decisions.
“Why do we need drawings if we have a prototype?”
This question seems very reasonable at first for anyone outside of the product development design circle. A prototype is an early version of a product, typically used for testing or getting a physical idea of how the product will feel and weigh. This usually leads to the question of “If it is prone to changes, why make engineering drawings?”
A prototype shows what something looks like, what it feels like. An engineering drawing of a prototype explains how it’s supposed to exist. Drawings capture specific features of the device and how it will be manufactured, which cannot be recorded without proper documentation. Specifications such as material choice and tolerancing should be properly recorded. Without engineering drawings, there is no path to manufacturing, which should be considered at every step of the product development timeline.
“Why can’t we use a cheaper material?”
Material choices come with a slew of considerations for prototyping, mid-development changes, and final production models. Every material has tradeoffs: cost, strength, flexibility, chemical resistance, manufacturability, and regulatory compatibility all play a role.
Cost can vary due to the choice of material and manufacturing method. For example, plastic injection molding is a cheap and easy way to manufacture a device, but only at scale. Alternatively, 3D printing serves as a great platform for one-off prototype testing, but comes with its own issues regarding strength, surface finish, and time.
Material choice is also greatly influenced by intent. A plastic material may be well-suited for a TV remote, but it would never pass for implants. Suddenly, material choice not only becomes significantly more expensive, but options become limited.
“Let’s just use a simple, cheaper material until we get further in development,” is something that cannot be accepted in engineering. No two materials behave the same under stress, heat, fatigue, and testing conditions. Doing so could lead to seriously flawed designs and, eventually, a major setback in development.
“Why is the design phase taking so long?”
From the outside, the design phase seems to be the longest part of the product development timeline; you are absolutely correct. Every review represents an opportunity to see a potential design flaw, which stops it from leading to a later design failure.
A part that looks acceptable and well-designed in CAD may be difficult or outright impossible to machine. A design that requires tight tolerancing can quickly compound manufacturing costs. A design that functions a few times successfully may fail under repeated use. Careful reviews during the design phase allow engineers to consider manufacturing, reliability, and safety in their design choices. A slow design phase is largely normal and can make (or break) the final product.
“Why does manufacturing need to be considered so early?”
A common misconception is that manufacturing can be figured out later. In reality, manufacturing constraints influence nearly every design decision.
Wall thickness, draft angles, tolerances, and material selection all depend on how a part will be made. A design that looks perfect in CAD may be impossible or prohibitively expensive to produce at scale. Failure to consider the manufacturability of a product or its components can lead to complete redesigns late in the design phase.
Concluding Points
Engineering is often misunderstood as slow or overly cautious, when it's really deliberate. Every drawing, material selection, tolerance, review, and test exists for a reason. These steps are not obstacles to a speedy product launch; they are required to ensure a successful one.
Asking why is an important part of the engineering process. When clients and designers ask why drawings are required, why certain materials are necessary, or why timelines extend longer than expected, those questions open the door to better communication and stronger products. The answers reveal that engineering is not just about making something work once, but about making it work reliably, safely, and repeatedly.
A fast product launch may feel like the ultimate goal, but a successful product launch is the one that lasts. Time spent in planning, documentation, and validation prevents costly failures, redesigns, and delays down the road. In engineering, time is not wasted when it is used to think, verify, and refine.
Understanding why things are done in a certain way helps align expectations, improve collaboration, and ultimately lead to better products. When the process is respected, engineering does what it does best: turn ideas into solutions that work in the real world.
If you have questions about the development process, feel free to reach out for help. We do hundreds of free consults every year to help guide innovators along their path of device development.