Microdex flying high

Finding the right electronics design company to support your product can still be hit and miss. There is really only one of four likely routes for you when developing an electronics based product and your choice will significantly impact the chance of your product getting to market.

The two most common mistakes are
(a) - You find a very cheap 'hobbyist' to do your design work. So, okay its a cheap way to prove the concept, but these guys generally don't have the high end tools to create designs which can easily transfer to production. Often they don't have the experience to bring a product to market, and whilst the design might work for your demo when you push the button for production you find a whole lot of issues.

(b) - The second most common mistake is to use a Manufacturing Company to do the development work. The simple fact is these businesses are not design companies. Whilst they assemble electronics boards and systems they typically add the service on to help bring in more manufacturing. Its a bit like asking a plumber to wiring you house. They'll have a good go but just probably won't do the job right.

So where does that leave. Well the other two options are:-

(a) hire you own internal development team. You'll need to build a team of engineers covering electronics design and software design. You will probably have to go down the contractor route with a big agency markup. Of course as with any industry there to good people and the bad people. If you have good contacts that will help.

(b) then there is the right option. Find an electronics and software design house. There are a few around in the UK, teams with experience of many product types, experience that can be harnessed to realise your development. In addition these companies will generally use high end design tools to make development more efficient and attract the best engineers due to design variety.

If you're looking for a design house get in touch. If we can't help we probably know another company that can, there are development teams out there covering specialist areas such as power, medical, commercial and RF design. A good design house should be able to clearly inform you of risks in your project but equally be able to guide you through first concept prototypes to full production either in the UK or outside the UK.