Production services, run by the engineers who built your prototype
Engineered in San Francisco. Prototype builds, DFM and mass production in our own factory in Shenzhen. We build from the files our engineers drew or the files you bring. Every order starts with a free engineering review, before payment.
How does a product move from engineering to production?
In four steps. U.S. engineers start the design, and the DFM review runs in Shenzhen next to the lines. The factory builds the demo build and the EVT, DVT and PVT units. Volume production, assembly and box build follow the golden sample you sign. Finished goods then ship to your customers or to U.S. fulfillment.
- Engineering and DFM. Initial development, contracts and IP terms in the U.S.; the DFM review in Shenzhen. See DFM services.
- Prototype and validation builds. Demo build parts, tooling and EVT, DVT and PVT builds. See NPI services.
- Production. Volume builds, assembly and system integration.
- Delivery. U.S. fulfillment: receiving, storage, pick-pack-ship, kitting and returns.
Which services can I order online?
12 services run in the portal. Standard PCB & PCBA and Advanced PCB & PCBA show a live supplier price. Four design services have a published fixed price. SMT stencils, flexible heaters, mechatronic parts, 3D printing, CNC machining and sheet metal get a price from a specialist within 24 hours on business days.
Molding, die casting, stamping and other production work is priced by an engineer in an official quote. See a sample quote before you start.
Production in our own factory in Shenzhen
The factory runs nine processes in-house: bare-board fabrication, SMT, injection molding, CNC machining, sheet metal, die casting, metal stamping, box build and test. An in-house tool room cuts the molds and dies. The engineers who designed your product stay on it on the factory floor.
That matters most in the weeks between PVT and the first volume batch. Fixtures, molds and test firmware already exist, and the people who wrote them sit next to the line. A question about a footprint or a draft angle goes to the engineer who drew it, not to a ticket queue at a new supplier.
PCB and PCBA
The PCB group covers the whole board: we fabricate it, source the parts, run SMT and through-hole assembly, and test it. The factory places 01005 parts at ±25 µm on 8 automated SMT lines and builds 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.
Boards run up to 30 layers in the configurator and 40 layers through review, rigid-flex included, with blind and buried vias, controlled impedance and specialty laminates such as Rogers, polyimide and metal core. Sourcing draws on 350 audited suppliers, and the review proposes qualified alternates.
- PCB manufacturing. Rigid, flex, rigid-flex, HDI and metal-core boards. Lead time is stated in the official quote. Order online
- PCB assembly. Prototype to volume, BGA and micro-BGA, 01005 parts, nitrogen reflow and conformal coating. Order online
- SMT assembly. 8 automated SMT lines with 3D solder paste inspection and full traceability. Order online
- Through-hole assembly. Wave and selective soldering, manual insertion, pin-in-paste and heavy-copper boards.
- Testing and inspection. 3D AOI, X-ray on the advanced route, ICT, flying probe, custom FCT fixtures, burn-in up to 168 hours and environmental chambers.
- Component sourcing. Authorized channels, XRF counterfeit checks, incoming inspection, buffer stock and end-of-life management.
- Flexible heaters. Etched-foil heaters with a standard resistance tolerance of 10 %, priced in the portal.
Custom parts
Enclosures, brackets, heat sinks and frames are made next to the boards they hold. Injection molding, CNC machining, sheet metal, die casting and metal stamping run in the factory. 3D printing is priced in the portal.
- Injection molding. Presses from 50 to 1,000 t, scientific (decoupled) molding, insert molding and overmolding, steel production molds rated for 500,000+ shots, walls down to 0.8 mm in engineering nylon, and an ISO 8 (Class 100,000) molding clean room. Production molds are cut after DVT closes the design.
- CNC machining. 3, 4 and 5-axis milling and turning in aluminum, stainless steel, titanium and PEEK, to ±0.01 mm, with CMM checks. Order online
- Die casting. Aluminum, zinc and magnesium parts near net shape, with CNC finishing on critical faces.
- Sheet metal fabrication. Fiber laser cutting, press brake bending, TIG, MIG and spot welding in sheet from 0.3 to 25 mm, powder coat, anodize and hardware insertion. Order online
- Metal stamping. Progressive and deep-draw dies for contacts, shields and brackets in copper, steel and aluminum.
- 3D printing. SLA, SLS, MJF and FDM with build envelopes up to 900 mm in FDM, no tooling, and a bridge to molding. Order online
Engineering, assembly and delivery
- NPI engineering. EVT, DVT and PVT builds and the golden sample sign-off, with the DFM review repeated before DVT and before tooling.
- DFM analysis. What a DFM review checks: panels, part choice, testability and cost.
- Rapid prototyping. 72-hour prototype builds, with printed or machined enclosures for a working unit.
- EMS. Turnkey or consigned BOM, production planning, inventory, Kanban and JIT delivery, and change control.
- OEM. Your design, built and tested to your specification under your brand.
- Box build assembly. Mechanical assembly, harness installation, firmware flashing, final functional test, serialization and retail packaging.
- Cable and harness assembly. Custom harnesses and cable sets, quoted by an engineer.
- Supply chain. Multi-sourcing, buffer stock, end-of-life management, logistics and customs.
- U.S. fulfillment. Receiving and counting, storage, pick-pack-ship, kitting and labels, and returns.
Can I start with prototypes and move to production later?
Yes, and most of the work carries over. Your demo build parts come from the portal, the EVT, DVT and PVT builds run in the factory, and volume starts from the same files. Nothing moves to a new supplier, so the DFM findings, the fixtures and the test plan stay with your product.
If you already produce elsewhere, send the current files and the BOM. The free engineering review shows what the factory would change before you commit, and tooling you paid for stays yours. Read transfer to production.
How is production held to the signed reference?
Every batch is compared with the golden sample you sign after DVT and PVT. Production test fixtures are built before PVT, and the ICT and FCT stations run the production test firmware. When a result drifts from the reference, an engineer reviews it before the next batch runs. A design change is re-measured and re-signed.
The factory holds ISO 9001, ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100 and ISO 14001. Production units ship with debug ports locked. See quality.
Questions about production
Do I need your engineering team to order production?
No. You can bring finished files and order production directly. The free engineering review checks those files for the route you chose before you pay. If the design needs a full DFM review, an engineer scopes it as design work and prices it in an official quote, so you decide before any change is made.
What quantities do you build?
Portal services take prototype quantities, so a demo build does not wait for a volume order. Orders run from one-piece prototypes and pilot lots to 10,000+ production runs. The quantity, the price breaks and the lead time are set in the official quote after the free engineering review.
How long does production take?
The lead time is stated in the official quote, not before it, because it depends on the parts, the tooling and the factory queue. Three tiers trade time for price: Economy, Standard and Express. You see the line for each tier before you commit.
Which regulated products can the factory build?
Medical devices and exoskeletons under ISO 13485, automotive and EV parts under IATF 16949, and aerospace and drone parts under AS9100. FDA work runs as a path with your regulatory team. See industries.
Send your files for production
Send Gerber files, a BOM or 3D CAD. An engineer runs the free engineering review, then we publish an official quote, and nothing is charged when you submit. No CAD yet? Our design team can take it from a sketch or a spec. See product design. More: case studies, capabilities, factory tour.