Virtual R-D, and Prototype / Process Development
Virtual R-D, prototype and process development are our specialties. We don't advertise to do it all, but with upfront engineering, we can keep your total costs lower, by early investigation of problem areas, before you fully commit to a new product idea or process.
Markets Served
Our concentration is on the small company or individual inventor with an idea, who lacks the internal capability to turn it into a viable product or process. Our focus is on the front end, where the opportunity to save money is greatest.
We do not propose to be a turn key do all firm. There are many fine and talented firms out there, which can take a product from an initial concept to shrinkwrap product in a retail store. However, such firms can become very expensive unless one has solid and unchanging specification upfront. Often times such firms are best suited to the expansion of an established firms market base, rather than the small company or individual inventor whose product or market may be subject to change midstream.
Core Competence
Research for Hire and Feasibility Studies
Specification WritingPrototype Design and Fabrication
- Electronics Design
- Mechanical Design
- Process Development
- Materials Science
- Prototype Fabrication
Prototype Qualification and Alpha and Beta Test Management
- Pre-compliance Testing
Virtual Team
Our team is dynamic, and can grow from a single designer or two, to over 40 members as a project demands. Unlike most turn key firms, where a regulatory and compliance team is on staff burning overhead 7 days a week, we only bring in specialists as the project and or workload demands. The same applies to other disciplines. We don't feel a client should be paying for overhead that doesn't apply directly to their project, yet, there are times when a specific guru is needed. As a result, we have a wide range of subcontractors on call, everything from draftsman to regulatory personal. You only pay for specialty services when they are needed, and through our Our unique approach to subcontractor services and billing, a 40% savings is not unreasonable.
A Cross Disciplinary Team
We are a virtual organization consisting of a core group who has worked together since the early 90's. What sets us apart is our cross disciplinary skill set. Each core member, not only has a specific competency, such as hardware design, embedded software, circuit board layout, mechanical design, and manufacturing, but also has skills in the other fields.
Unlike most firms, where a hardware designer is not versed in the manufacturing, each core member can also provide complementary services. The benefit provided with a multi-disciplinary team, is that the days of throwing the design over the wall to the other guy are long gone, as well as the associated finger pointing that can occur should problems result.
In addition, we bring multiple aspects of market specific design knowledge to the table, ranging from aerospace, to industrial products, to medical products, to consumer electronics as well as our manufacturing backgrounds from low volume custom process equipment, to higher volume products where hundreth cents, and process seconds equate to serious dollars.
While one might think that applying aerospace design processes to a consumer electronics device would result in design overkill, it is often times not so much the design standards in and of themselves, as it is robust design processes and product qualification that are key. Both of these criteria can provide significantly less headaches when an early prototype goes into pre-production, as contrasted with having only a one off prototype. While one offs are fine for purposes of seeking funding, often times they do end up in limited production for market research, or even for sale. Using a on-off prototype for such purposes can result not only in production headaches, but also the potential for in field failures is significantly higher.
