Industrial Design

Ideation, the generation of ideas and concepts, when thought through on paper, gives solid and visually descriptive form to ephemeral thoughts. Producing an array of concepts allows the designer to capture ideas and create a snapshot of product considerations. Ideation not only irons out issues in designs but also leads to optimum functionality.

The Ideation process is excellent for discussion and development for both the designers and the client. Design Ideation is the seminal stage of the project although it is a process that takes place throughout. Our designers regularly use this skill to develop fine details and explore alternative solutions in the detailed design stages.

Ideation

Concept development is a process where the industrial designer takes selected concepts forward, exploring potential solutions and developing the designs to realise design suitability, form, aesthetics, user interface, user experience, scale, context and features.

Our Industrial Design Engineers are artists with fine liner and card, producing low fidelity prototypes and iterations of designs to take them further into the detailed design stages.

Taking ideas further

Concept Generation

Creating 3D models with precision and attention to detail, following all the design requirements for manufacturability and still retaining beautiful aesthetics is quite a skill. Using Solidworks as their platform, our designers produce manufacture-ready designs that are refined in consultation with the manufacturer for efficient product sign off.

Producing CAD models that are ready for manufacture and translated into precise engineering documentation is no small task. We have many years of experience of producing components in a wide range of materials conforming to varying standards and customer requirements.

Taking ideas further

3D CAD Design

Staying on trend is essential for product design. Creating desirable products that are fashionable and appeal to the market will make the difference between success and failure. Taking this ideology further we can work from your brief to produce something that surpasses design trends.

Design is part of our team’s lifestyle. They regularly spend time reading the latest design papers, trawling through cutting edge research and discussing innovations. We are ardent in our design beliefs and practices, with our passion shining through in our work and methodology.

It’s a case of always staying on top

Design Trends

User centred design is key for product development and ground-breaking designs. To create an iconic and stylish product, Industrial Designers are required to gain real and immersive insight into the user and their environment, as human factors and usability will help define whether the product will be successful.

Our creative Industrial Designers work very closely with our other engineers, users and focus groups to ensure an elegant concept is produced that is manufacturable and perfect for the end customer.

End users considered throughout

Human Centred Design

Products have many aspects including electronics, software and mechanical components. The casing may involve many mechanical elements to fit together with electronic components; there may be gears, switches and small mechanisms that all need fine development to ensure they fit within the aesthetic design of the product.

Having a unified and communicative team allows for parallel development of electronic and mechanical design. This reduces product development times and moves the product to production sooner, mitigating against possible issues further down the line.

Mechanical meets electronics

Electro - Mechanical Design

Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) are often ignored in the development process, as consideration for manufacture and assembly can seem far removed when focusing on the end consumer, functionality and aesthetics.

Design for manufacture is essential in every single physical or digital component of a product - its hardware, mechanical components, firmware, software and systems. If DFM and DFA considerations are not taken into account throughout the design process, time and money will be wasted and product development and manufacture will be less efficient.

Design for manufacture and assembly

DFM & DFA

Supporting our clients in the manufacturing stages, liaising directly with manufacturers in the UK or the Far East and performing tasks such as first article inspection and design validation are part of our service portfolio. The Conficio Designers and Engineers are able to create test procedures and test rigs, suitable for rapid and thorough testing on the production line ensuring minimal product failure in the field.

Our Industrial Design Engineers have experience of dealing directly with suppliers in both Hong Kong and mainland China, rectifying any tooling issues that may arise from the initial trial run and help support the tool maker with any modifications required to improve the quality of the plastics.

Tooling and injection moulding

Manufacturing Support