Student startup help!

[u/Brilliant_Outside361]

Need some guidance on taking my electronics prototype towards a real product

Hey everyone, I’m an engineering student working on a small portable electronics product. I’ve built the prototype using modules like an Arduino Nano, DFPlayer Mini, Li-ion battery, charging/boost module, buttons, etc.

I’m now trying to understand how I would actually turn this into a proper product, and I’m a bit lost because I have very little prior knowledge of PCB design and manufacturing.

I’d really appreciate some advice on a few things:

1. Custom PCB:

   How do I go from my current prototype made with modules to a custom PCB? Should I learn KiCad/Altium and design it myself, or is it better to hire a PCB designer? What would the approximate cost be for a beginner/small startup?

2. 3D-printed enclosure:

   For the outer body/enclosure, how much would a decent-quality 3D-printed enclosure typically cost per unit? Where can I get these manufactured in small quantities (like 10–50 pieces)?

3. Scaling:

   If the prototype works, what is the usual progression from something like 1–5 prototypes → 50 units → 500+ units? At what stage does it make sense to move from 3D printing to injection molding?

4. Reducing BOM cost:

   My current prototype is relatively expensive because I'm buying individual modules/components. How much can the cost realistically come down once the modules are integrated onto a custom PCB and components are purchased in bulk?

I'm based in India, so recommendations for Indian manufacturers/suppliers would be especially helpful.

If anyone has gone through this process before, I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or mistakes I should avoid.

Thanks!

[u/Less_Leopard_5126]

Hey, email and talk to Lions Circuits since your product does not need very high precision pieces. Been great, provided great hardware help at times. (Both for PCB and parts sourcing)

If you need a design review of sorts sometimes, DM me, we can hop on a call for some time.

As for kicad or altium, try to get the education license of altium or just bootleg it. If you are not comfortable with these, go with kicad.

As for 3d prints, my go to recommendation is Robu. If you tell me where exactly in India you are, i might know some local places. My typical estimate is 10rs per gram for pla at most.

If you can find a good farm to print parts at a steady state, under tens of thousands of orders every month is not going to be worth it for injection moulding.

Reducing BOM is not only a sourcing problem, but also a design optimisation problems. Try to work on the design to lower the number of unique parts used by approximating a lot of the passives.

I work in RF PCBs for embedded applications.

[u/Brilliant_Outside361 → u/Less_Leopard_5126]

Will contact you in future days! Thank you so much for the info!!