Suitcase Product Design for Manufacture

The brief

A suitcase line that had to be manufactured, not just presented. Shell, lid, and handle, in more than one finish, with the tolerances a factory will actually hold.

The other half of the brief was the contractors in China: someone had to take the model, sit with the shop, and come back with a product that matches the drawing.

The challenge

A pretty render is not a brief a factory can quote. A factory quote is not a product until someone has closed the gap between the two.

• A shell and lid that close, stack, and tool without a surprise radius
• A telescopic handle that belongs to the body, not a bought-in part glued on later
• Colour and finish variants that do not each need a new tool
• Contractors who will change a wall or a rib unless someone is on the call with the CAD open

How we approached it

The product was designed as a manufacturing set: outer shell, inner volume, lid, and handle, with the joints named. Variants share the same tool path. Colour is a finish, not a new body.

Then the contractors. We handled the Chinese shops: drawings, questions, samples, and the changes that come back from the floor. The model moved when the factory was right. It did not move because someone preferred a prettier still.

What we built

A suitcase line ready for manufacture, and the contractor path that goes with it. The photograph is three finishes of the same design: closed, open, and on its side, so the lid and the handle are both visible.

The client is under NDA. We do not publish the factory names, the order quantity, or a unit cost.

Results

The engagement is under NDA. We do not publish who it was built for, volumes, or a landed cost.

In use

A later colour or a later run uses the same tools. The contractor conversation stays attached to the files, so the next PO is not a new design argument.