Challenges of Integrating Industrial Product Design CAD packages in Commercial New Product Development in SME settings

This research focuses on one of the many challenges faced by industrial designers in SMEs with commercial CAD packages and offers solutions to overcome these limitations for new product development. Although CAD packages are crucial for design finalisation, CAD tools have limitations to assist the design conceptualization stage and designers struggle to transition between different stages of the design process. This gap in resources means it is necessary for designers to rely on traditional design tools such as sketching, as well as formulate creative solutions while using CAD tools for successful product development.

This commercially funded research in collaboration with Innovate UK and a medical SME in the UK is aimed at pioneering medical device innovations in the field of chemotherapy side effect management. The project is aimed at the design and development of a cryo-compression delivering system including a miniaturized device and wearable limb wraps to prevent the dose-limiting side effect of chemotherapy called Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN). The case study investigates the challenges of using 3D CAD tools for the leg wearable design as part of the CIPN system.