Idea to working device
in 4–6 weeks.
Electronic product prototype development: custom PCB, firmware and enclosure, designed together.
For founders and product teams with an idea, a breadboard or a schematic. We design the circuit board, write the ESP32 firmware, build the enclosure around the real board, and hand you one working unit. From $7,500.
The gap
Your idea needs three specialists.
Usually that's three vendors.
An electrical engineer designs the board. A firmware developer writes the code. Someone else draws the case. Each hands off files to the next, and the mismatches show up at assembly: a USB-C port that doesn't line up, a pin wired to the wrong function, a board that doesn't fit its standoffs. The firms that do all three run multi-month programs with a five-figure minimum.
We do all three in one pipeline, and check them against each other by machine before anything is built.
How it works
Five steps. 4–6 weeks, end to end.
- 01
Scoping call
Fifteen minutes on what the device has to do. You get a written quote back: scope, price and timeline.
- 02
Design and approval
Schematic, board layout and enclosure renders. You approve them before anything is ordered.
- 03
Fab
Boards are made and assembled by our fab partner while the enclosure is printed and cut.
- 04
Bring-up
We flash the firmware, test the board, and fit it into the enclosure.
- 05
Handoff
One working unit shipped to you, with every file needed to build more.
What you actually get
What a prototype includes.
Files and a device.
Custom circuit board
KiCad schematic and layout, checked against the fab's design rules before ordering. Fab-ready Gerbers, BOM and pick-and-place files.
Firmware
ESP-IDF source for the ESP32 family, flashed over a single USB-C cable. Pin definitions are generated from the board, so the two can't drift apart.
Enclosure
Designed around the real board model. Print-ready STL, editable STEP, laser cut files where the design uses them, renders, and an illustrated assembly guide.
One working unit
Assembled, flashed and tested by us, then shipped to you.
The review reports
Every board, enclosure and firmware build passes an automated review before it reaches you. You get the reports.
Case study: HC-01
Our own product, built the way we'd build yours.
HC-01 is a desktop cigar humidor controller. We designed the circuit board around an ESP32 module, wrote the firmware, and built a laser-cut Baltic birch case with printed internals. Then we assembled it and ran it on the bench.
Board
Custom two-layer board, now on rev E. Rev D came back with connectors that read open. We traced it to a bug in our own design tooling, fixed the tool, and re-spun the board.
Firmware
ESP-IDF firmware drives the round display, reads the sensor, runs the fan, and sets up Wi-Fi from a phone. Its pin map is generated from the board design.
Enclosure
Six laser-cut birch panels held by printed corner posts, with the slots sized from calipered sheets, not the label on the plywood.
Samples
Real builds. Most free to download.
Devices and enclosures we've designed and built. STL, BOM, renders, most free to download.
Who this isn't for
Filter early. Save us both the call.
Enclosure-only work
If you already have a finished board and only need a case, we're not the right shop any more. We design the whole device.
Budgets under $7,500
A custom board, firmware and enclosure with a working unit is real engineering. Below that, a dev kit and an off-the-shelf case will serve you better.
Production and certification
Injection-mold tooling, FCC certification and volume manufacturing are separate engagements. We build the prototype that gets you there.
Pricing
One engagement. Quoted to your device.
Full prototype
Custom circuit board, firmware and enclosure, plus one assembled, working unit. The final price is set after the scoping call: a simple sensor device sits near $7,500; more boards, more parts or harder assembly cost more.
Paid 40% at kickoff, 30% when you approve the design, and 30% at handoff, each through a payment link we email you. You approve the design before anything is ordered, and you can stop after any milestone with nothing further owed. Paid milestones aren't refunded.
Questions
Asked & answered.
What do I need to start?
A clear description of what the device should do. A breadboard or dev-kit prototype, a schematic, or an existing board all help, but none is required. We work out the rest on the scoping call.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes. Send yours and we'll sign it before you share anything, or use our short mutual NDA, which we can email on request. Either way your files stay confidential and aren't shared, posted, or used as portfolio without your written sign-off.
Can you design the circuit board, not just the case?
Yes. That's the core of the work. We do the schematic and layout in KiCad and check the board against the fab's design rules before ordering. You get the fab files (Gerbers, BOM and pick-and-place), and the enclosure is then designed around the real board model, so ports, standoffs and clearances line up.
Do you write the firmware?
Yes, for the ESP32 family: sensor reading, displays, controls, and Wi-Fi setup from a phone. The board's pin definitions are generated from the board design itself, and the firmware build fails if the two disagree. Heavier, Linux-class compute is quoted case by case.
How long does it take?
4–6 weeks from kickoff to a working unit. You approve the schematic, board layout and enclosure renders before anything goes to fab. Board fabrication and assembly take about a week or two in the middle; those lead times are the fab's, so we estimate them rather than promise them.
What does it cost?
From $7,500. The final price is set after the scoping call, because it depends on how many boards, parts and enclosure pieces the device needs and how hard it is to assemble. It's paid 40% at kickoff, 30% when you approve the design, and 30% at handoff. The hardware for your working unit is included in the quote.
What if I want to stop partway?
You can stop after any milestone and owe nothing further. Paid milestones aren't refunded, because the design time and hardware behind them are already spent. That's also why you approve the design before anything is ordered.
Do I get a working unit?
Yes: one assembled, flashed and tested unit, shipped to you, along with every file needed to build more. More units, or a small batch, are quoted separately.
Who owns the design?
You do. Once the engagement is paid, the design IP is yours: board files, firmware source and enclosure CAD. We don't keep rights to it or show it publicly without your permission.
Is it ready for production?
It's a working prototype, built to prove the product and to show investors, testers and manufacturers. Production design for injection molding, and certification such as FCC, are separate engagements we quote case by case.
I only need an enclosure for my existing board. Can you do that?
Not any more. We now design the whole device (board, firmware and enclosure together) and no longer take enclosure-only work.
Send a brief
Tell us what you're building.
We'll get back within one business day on whether it's a fit, a rough price, and what we'd need to know to quote it properly. Or book a 15-min call.
First 5 teams
Your idea. Our problem.
4–6 weeksfrom a scoping call to a working unit on your desk. We're onboarding our first 5 hardware teams. Book a 15-min call or send a brief.





