Get experienced assistance from our engineers to help with engineering work (mechanical, electronic, or firmware) where needed, create your prototype, and comment on whether your design is fit for mass production.
Most startups, as well as many midsize companies, lack product development experience and missteps in the R&D phase have long-lasting consequences. This is where we step in to support your project and help you bring it to the next level.
Why prototype with Agilian?
We don’t just make parts (and we are familiar with many fabrication and surface treatment processes).
We design the product (the mechanical and electronic aspects, but also the firmware) and we build functional and/or aesthetically pleasing products in our prototyping lab.
We can validate them, or push them to failure, in our testing lab. All under one roof, for higher speed.
We focus on the following during a prototyping project to ensure you’re on the way to successful manufacturing:
Design reviews
Changes at this stage are much faster and less expensive than down the line.
Research & development
Our team of mechanical, electrical, and electronic engineers in our R&D center are focused on moving your products from design to a prototype that is manufacturable in China.
Rapid prototyping
You want a first prototype, and then iterations, fast. We can do the job on-site for you.
Tooling development
Tools, jigs, or fixtures might be needed for manufacturing or testing. You get the help you need to develop them from our experienced team.
Source standard & custom components
We’re in the World’s largest pool of component suppliers (all sizes, quality, & service levels) making it easy to obtain your components.
Certifications
We have broad experience to handle certifications of your product for your market(s).
Pilot runs
These are quite helpful for confirming that a new or complex product is ready for production at our facility.
Specialized resource & process network
After 15+ years of export manufacturing, we have formed a deep network, from reliability labs to niche coating workshops.
The New Product Introduction process
For each project, we set a plan (with your agreement) for the process engineering, reliability testing, etc. needed to cut production risks.
Confidentiality
Which importer is not concerned about data confidentiality? That’s one of the reasons they opt to work with us. We keep your supply chain & product IP safe.
People come to us with different needs. Let’s break it down:
You need a “just do it” service focused on making parts.
You already have the drawings, schematics, etc. You need the parts to be made and shipped to you, without much critical thinking. That’s often the right approach for early ‘proof of concept’ prototypes, or for very simple products.
You need a design review & suggestions, not just components.
You want to develop a product that is relatively easy to manufacture, with low risk of quality & reliability issues. Design reviews help prevent such issues when it is still easy.
You need a review and help setting up a testing plan.
We always suggest that our customers set a testing plan (and we can work on defining it) and use that plan to check & approve the prototypes. The testing plan gets more mature as you get closer to production.
You need help with design first, before making prototypes.
Maybe you don’t have the drawings and other technical documents necessary. Maybe you also need support on the supply chain side, to pick the right components from the start. We can help.
These are the most common ways we support our customer's projects in our prototyping lab:
Structural & mechanical design
Electronic design
For a complex new product, we may suggest to develop a ‘proof of concept’ based on Arduino. When it is time to get a full prototype that will be ready for production, we can design it from the ground up.
Based on what the product needs to
accomplish (specifications), we work on:
1. The block diagram
2. The schematic
3. The PCB layout
4. The prototypes
Firmware development
We have worked on projects that involved the following:
Languages: C (in Arduino), C (for PIC) Basic
Microcontrollers: American (PIC, AVR, STM8, STM32) Japanese (Renesas), Chinese (Fremont, Sinone, Neusoft, Cmsemicon, Chipsea), Taiwanese (Nuvoton, Holtek, Sonix, STC), and Arduino.
Chipsets: sensors (light, temperature, liquid, smoke, accelerometers, gyroscope), wifi, Bluetooth, USB controller, LCD, TFT related IC, power IC, charging IC.
Design for manufacturing
Do you want to get a final prototype that everybody loves, and later find out about enormous manufacturing challenges?
To avoid this, we plan for all the implications of the design on the manufacturability of components, on the ease and quality of assembly, on product reliability, etc.
We help adapt your concept to those constraints. We often suggest a better function-to-cost ratio (value engineering).
Mold design
Once the structural & mechanical design has been done into the details, designing tooling is often one of the next steps.
Our team has hands-on experience in plastic injection molding and die casting. We usually select & manage fabrication shops, review their mold design, and sign off on the molds and first trials.
Our engineers are often called in for troubleshooting during production, too
Technical support, with your suppliers
Does the design call for a complex manufacturing process for which your supplier has little experience?
Maybe we can help them pick the right materials, set up and control the process, etc.
Maybe a problem needs to be studied (root cause analysis, counter measures and verification, standardization).
We also often review an assembly line (layout & efficiency, testing stations…)
We integrate the design work, including electronics, the mechanical parts, the firmware, and if needed also the mobile app.
In particular, software/hardware integration is sometimes a complex topic. Having two separate teams located in different countries try to sync their efforts can be very inefficient.
Also, having the PCB designer agree with the industrial / mechanical designer can be a challenge when miniaturization is an important objective.
Our R&D team members come with a wide variety of engineering experiences.They have worked on the design & development of the following products.
Electronic products
- Electronic cigarette and its chargers
- Secured food box
- Home audio system
- Sweeper robot
- Waterproof audio system with Bluetooth
- Bone-conduction earphone
- Ruggedized mobile phone
- TV remote control
- Calculator
- Racing lamp mirror
- Industrial tablet computer
- Solar lamps
- Industrial control computer
- Interior LED lamps
- Intelligent Bluetooth terminal
- Hair dryer
- Shared power bank
- Hair straightener
- 3G network hardware
- Intelligent display and control equipment
Kitchen, home, and garden appliances
- Manual and electric wine corkscrews
- Humidifier
- Salt and pepper grinders
- Electric fan
- Vacuum thermos cup
- Electric heater
- Cooking pots and pans
- Electronic scale
- Coffee machine
- Automatic lawn mower
- Blender
- TV holder
Car accessories
- Car humidifier/air filter
- In-vehicle video camera
- Car mobile phone holder
Sport accessories
- Paddle
- Electric skateboard
- Massage accessory
Self-service machines
- Self-service card issuing machine
- Self-service payment machine
- Self-service printer
Other
- 3D printer
- Receipt printer
- Rolling advertisement light box
- Multimeter
Our R&D team members come with a wide variety of engineering experiences.They have worked on the design & development of the following products.
Electronic products
- Electronic cigarette and its chargers
- Secured food box
- Home audio system
- Sweeper robot
- Waterproof audio system with Bluetooth
- Bone-conduction earphone
- Ruggedized mobile phone
- TV remote control
- Calculator
- Racing lamp mirror
- Industrial tablet computer
- Solar lamps
- Industrial control computer
- Interior LED lamps
- Intelligent Bluetooth terminal
- Hair dryer
- Shared power bank
- Hair straightener
- 3G network hardware
- Intelligent display and control equipment
Kitchen, home, and garden appliances
- Manual and electric wine corkscrews
- Humidifier
- Salt and pepper grinders
- Electric fan
- Vacuum thermos cup
- Electric heater
- Cooking pots and pans
- Electronic scale
- Coffee machine
- Automatic lawn mower
- Blender
- TV holder
Car accessories
- Car humidifier/air filter
- In-vehicle video camera
- Car mobile phone holder
Sport accessories
- Paddle
- Electric skateboard
- Massage accessory
Self-service machines
- Self-service card issuing machine
- Self-service payment machine
- Self-service printer
Other
- 3D printer
- Receipt printer
- Rolling advertisement light box
- Multimeter
