Mowing one’s lawn is a necessary evil. Doing so prevents the accumulation of ticks and other pests, and ensures that everyone is adhering to the neighbourhood covenants pertaining to home maintenance.
However, mowing the lawn in the heat of the summer becomes more frustrating when exacerbated by issues linked to low-quality engineering.
When designing a high-quality lawn mower, there are steps that can be taken to ensure that everything is working as it should and that customers will come back to buy another when the time comes.
Here are five tips for producing a high-quality lawn mower:
Prioritize Prototyping
The prototyping process is possibly the most important aspect of designing and engineering, as it can help determine the functionality of the design and costs associated with production. It also allows designers to test a product and identify any problems before investing in large-scale production.
Fortunately, prototyping isn’t as costly as it once was, as there is a variety of precision CNC machining services to help the process along. Be sure to test the prototype in a variety of settings to assess the overall performance of the product.
Adjustable Features
One of the key features that consumers are looking for in a high-quality lawn mower is adaptability. For example, having a grass catcher is sometimes an important selling point, while others prefer to leave the clippings alone to mulch the lawn.
By having an adjustable mower that makes attaching or removing a grass catcher a user-friendly experience, you’ll appeal to a larger market.
Other adjustable features include things like the mulching and cutting functionalities themselves. Some consumers prefer the ability to switch between cutting and mulching, depending on the season and their lawn care methods. Having a mower that does both is a benefit.
Electric Functionality
As technology becomes more advanced, lawn mowers are moving away from the pull cord starting feature toward simple electric buttons.
Furthermore, rather than being fuelled by petrol, electric mowers are ideal as they have less of an odour and tend to require less maintenance. Electric mowers were once more expensive because of the advanced engineering, but are now affordable to produce and purchase.
More consumers are looking for some sort of electric component when shopping for a lawn mower. They consider the electric start to be of higher quality than a traditional pull cord. By conducting adequate research, you’ll be able to determine what works best for your target market.
Self-Propulsion
There’s a significant price variance between push mowers and ride-on mowers, and for many consumers, 
it’s a limiting factor. Furthermore, consumers are hesitant to invest in a ride-on mower if they feel as though their lawn size doesn’t justify the expense.
The happy medium between the two is the self-propelled mower, which assists with the burden of the push mower by reducing resistance. Adding this feature will assist in marketing your product as a high-quality mower, by assessing the consumer needs and taking advantage of cheaper production and machining costs.
Ergonomics and Ease of Use
A well-designed lawn mower begins on the drawing table. There are often hundreds of components in a single lawn mower, with considerations about everything from engine size to handle grips.
When considering how to put the product together, think about how every piece could be optimized to make things easier for the user.
Definition of ergonomics
1: an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely — called also biotechnology, human engineering, human factors
2: the design characteristics of an object resulting especially from the application of the science of ergonomics
Definition by Merriam-Webster.com
Is there a way to make the engine lighter without sacrificing quality by using alternative materials for parts? Is the handle ergonomically designed to reduce pain caused by extended periods of gripping and vibration? Are you using injection molding everywhere that you can to improve the functionality of the mower?
Design Considerations in Equal Measure
When producing a high-quality mower there are two design considerations that have equal measure: the user experience and cost.
When producing a high-quality mower, the user experience should reflect the price point at which the product is being sold. In regards to cost, it’s essential to keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing quality to achieve the desired margin and profit.
By creating something high-quality, your customers will come back time and time again and recommend your product to other consumers, extending the longevity of your business.
