Mechanical Design and Engineering Q&A

Indesign Offers Mechanical Design and Engineering Services?

Yes, you might not have realized that Indesign, LLC has a mechanical design and engineering (MDE) group. Its specialty is electro-mechanical design and engineering, since most of our business is embedded electronic design.

What Makes Indesign MDE Different From Other Companies?

Very few Electrical Design contract houses have MDE in house. Many Industrial Design firms provide mechanical engineering but not electrical design and engineering. By having the MDE inside with electrical design and engineering, we can better manage the trade-offs between mechanical and electrical design. A couple of examples may help illustrate. When our electrical team works with outside MDE, the outside MDE often times does not have connector or cable experience. They may select parts that may not be suitable for the overall design of the product. When our MDE team is involved, they work closely with our electrical team to consider both mechanical and electrical pros and cons of the various options. This results in connector and cable choices best suited for the application. In another example, the Indesign MDE team is highly experienced with addressing EMI and ESD issues that, if not addressed early in the design, can result in rework, added cost, and schedule delays. Our MDE team plans for and assists with the design of EMI shields early in the process and locates or isolates the PCB within the product housing to protect it against potential ESD events.

What’s Your Process?

• Product Conceptualization – Providing feedback to our client if the product can be made with today’s or near-term technology.
• Requirements – Working with the client to list everything the product has to do.
• Industrial Design – Developing an aesthetically and ergonomically pleasing shape and user interface.
• Mechanical Architecture – Creating a paper plan of all the parts, including PCBs, that need to be designed and a rough production cost estimate so the client can determine if their business case makes sense.
• Mechanical Design, including appropriate analysis – Using Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD) to define the piece-parts and assembly. Computer analysis can be done to determine adequate performance.
• Prototyping – Obtaining rapid prototype parts to build a functional model.
• Mechanical, Electrical, and Firmware Integration – Bringing all the parts of the system together to have a fully functional model.
• Testing – Verifying the prototype meets the requirements.
• Documentation – Creating the information the factory needs to build the product.
• Tooling Support – Working with the toolmaker to get cost-effective tools. For example, when working with molded plastic, it is essential that gates and ejectors are placed at appropriate locations within the mold to ensure efficient and cost-effective manufacturing.
• Production Support – Working with the factory to get a smooth transition into production.

Indesign, LLC

We believe an integrated MDE with electrical design and engineering is the best option for developing electro-mechanical products. Below are a few electro-mechanical devices designed by Indesign. Please contact us at (317) 377-5450 to discuss potential electro-mechanical designs.