An engineering company that builds what it designs
Illuminious is a U.S. NPI engineering company. Engineered in San Francisco. Prototype builds, DFM and mass production in our own factory in Shenzhen. We design hardware and firmware for startups and product teams, then build the product in the Shenzhen factory.
- 500+ projects delivered
- 200+ hardware teams in 30 countries
- 8 automated SMT lines
- 350 audited suppliers
What kind of company is Illuminious?
An engineering company first. Our engineers take a product from a brief to a schematic, an enclosure and firmware. The same team then runs the prototype builds, the DFM review and mass production in the Shenzhen factory, which Illuminious owns. You work with one company from the first sketch to the production line.
Hardware projects lose time at hand-offs. A design firm passes files to a factory that never saw the reasons behind them, and the manufacturability work starts again. We run Illuminious so that the engineers who draw your schematic stay on the project when it moves to the factory floor. The services page lists each production process, capabilities lists the limits we design to, and industries shows the products we work on.
How is the work split between San Francisco and Shenzhen?
Initial development happens in the U.S.: requirements, architecture, schematic, layout, mechanical design and firmware. Prototype building, DFM and mass production happen in Shenzhen, where our engineers work next to the lines. They attend the EVT, DVT and PVT builds in person, so each decision is made with the unit on the bench.
| Place | What happens there |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA 94107 | Engineering, project scoping, contracts and your day-to-day contact |
| Shenzhen factory | Prototype builds, DFM review, EVT, DVT and PVT builds, volume production and test |
What we do, in the order we do it
1. Engineering and design. Electronics, mechanical parts and firmware, started in the U.S. We check parts availability and alternates before the schematic is drawn. Firmware engineers review the schematic before layout starts, and a second engineer checks every schematic and layout before delivery. The DFM review then runs in Shenzhen, next to the lines. See product design and firmware development.
2. Prototype builds through the portal. 12 services can be configured and ordered online, from Standard PCB & PCBA to CNC machining and sheet metal. The portal also takes 72-hour prototype builds. Start at Get instant quote.
3. Production. Volume runs in the Shenzhen factory against the golden sample you sign after DVT and PVT, and an engineer reviews any drift before the next batch. See transfer to production.
Capabilities at a glance
PCB and PCBA. We fabricate bare boards in the Shenzhen factory: up to 30 layers in the configurator and 40 layers through review, in rigid, flex, rigid-flex, HDI and metal-core builds. The SMT lines place 01005 parts at ±25 µm. Assemblies are built to IPC-A-610 Class 3 when the order calls for it. AOI runs on every board, and X-ray checks BGA and QFN joints on the advanced route. We build custom ICT and functional test fixtures, and the review proposes alternates for hard-to-get parts.
Custom parts. Injection molding, CNC machining, sheet metal, die casting and metal stamping run in the factory. 3D printing is priced in the portal. The range covers injection molding with insert molding and overmolding; CNC machining to ±0.01 mm in aluminum, stainless steel, titanium and engineering plastics; die casting in aluminum, zinc and magnesium, with CNC finishing on critical faces; sheet metal cutting, bending and welding in sheet from 0.3 to 25 mm; and 3D printing in SLA, SLS, MJF and FDM.
NPI. DFM, DFA and DFT work, EVT, DVT and PVT builds with test records, production tooling and process validation, pilot runs, and the golden sample sign-off. See NPI services.
Where is the factory, and what does it hold?
The factory is in Shenzhen, China, and Illuminious owns it. It fabricates bare boards and runs 8 automated SMT lines, molding, machining, metal work, box build and test. An in-house tool room cuts the production molds, and an ISO 7 (Class 10,000) clean room serves work that needs clean conditions, and an ISO 8 (Class 100,000) clean room serves molding. The factory holds the five certificates below.
| Certificate | What it covers |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | The quality management system for all factory work |
| ISO 13485 | Medical devices, plus exoskeletons and rehab devices |
| IATF 16949 | Automotive and EV parts |
| AS9100 | Aerospace and drone parts |
| ISO 14001 | Environmental management |
Assemblies can be built and inspected to IPC-A-610 Class 3, and materials meet RoHS and REACH. Read how the quality system works or walk through the factory tour.
Products our engineers work on
Our engineers work on five groups of products:
Specialties we add to a project: FPGA, RF and antenna, power electronics and battery/BMS, motor control, embedded Linux, and the certification path.
- On the body: smart rings, smartwatches and wristbands, smart glasses, data gloves for robot training, and wellness wearables.
- Robots and motion: robot hands and grippers, robots and teleoperation rigs, exoskeletons and rehab devices.
- Connected things: industrial IoT sensors, smart home devices and personal AI devices.
- Power: battery packs and BMS, chargers and power electronics.
- Measurement: lab and test instruments.
Our team, by role
We do not publish names. The team is organized by role, and each role works on your project at the stage where it matters.
- Hardware engineers for schematics, layout and mechanical design.
- Firmware engineers for bring-up, drivers, updates and the test images used on the line.
- DFM and process engineers who take a design into the factory and stay with it through PVT.
- Test engineers who build fixtures and run the 30+ ICT/FCT test stations.
- Quality engineers who keep the factory's certificates and compare each batch with the golden sample.
- Sourcing staff who qualify suppliers and manage the audited supplier network.
- Project leads who are your single point of contact from the first review to delivery.
How we work with you
Measured, not assumed. Each stage gate ends with a written report. Firmware test results are kept per unit, by serial number.
Your files and your IP. We sign your NDA before the first call, and project files live in private project storage. Who owns the design is answered in the questions below.
Your tooling. Molds, fixtures and test stations you pay for belong to you, and you can move them to another factory.
A U.S. contract. Contracts and payments are with Illuminious LLC, a Wyoming company.
Ways to start
Configure it online, or send the job to an engineer. Online, depending on the service, you see a live supplier price, a published fixed price, or a price from a specialist within 24 hours on business days. The free engineering review comes first either way, and nothing is charged before you accept an official quote.
Company facts
- Name: Illuminious
- Legal entity: Illuminious LLC (Wyoming). Contracts are with Illuminious LLC.
- Website: www.illuminious.com
- Office: San Francisco, CA 94107
- Phone and WhatsApp: +1 (650) 505-1788
- Email: info@illuminious.com
- Factory: Shenzhen, China (owned by Illuminious)
- Certifications (Shenzhen factory): ISO 9001, ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100, ISO 14001
- Area served: United States and worldwide
- Expertise: hardware product development, NPI, DFM review, firmware development, PCB and PCBA, golden sample, EVT, DVT and PVT, contract manufacturing
- How to buy: free engineering review, then an official quote; 12 services online
Questions about Illuminious
Where is Illuminious based?
Our office is in San Francisco, CA 94107, and our factory is in Shenzhen, China. Engineers work in both places: initial development in the U.S., prototype builds, DFM and production in Shenzhen. Contracts and payments are with Illuminious LLC, a Wyoming company, so you sign with a U.S. entity.
Do you own the factory, or broker the work?
We own the Shenzhen factory. Bare-board fabrication, SMT, injection molding, CNC machining, sheet metal, die casting, metal stamping, box build and test run inside it. 3D printing is priced in the portal. For any other process, an engineer tells you how and where it is made before you pay.
Do you work with teams that have no hardware engineers?
Yes. Some teams come with no hardware engineers, some with one generalist, and some with a gap like FPGA or RF. Software companies adding their first device are welcome too. We design the product, build the prototypes and take it into production, so you do not have to hire first.
Who owns the designs we pay for?
On an engineering project, you do: design files and IP are assigned to you at hand-off, and source files arrive at each stage gate. Firmware source is delivered when the order includes it; otherwise you receive binaries. On a portal order, ownership follows the scope you approve before payment.
Tell us what you are building
Send a full file set if you have one. No CAD yet? Our design team can take it from a sketch or a spec. Read the founder playbook if this is your first hardware product.