Custom Design

Like our Rugged products? Let us design a professional solution for you that exactly meets your specifications.

Services

Rugged Circuits has both the breadth and depth of expertise to help with any custom design, including:

System design, requirements, concept selection
Detailed circuit design
Design optimization
Prototyping
Printed circuit board (PCB) layout
PCB manufacturing (low and high volume)
PCB assembly (low and high volume) including functional test
Firmware development
Documentation

Stages

Our custom design program typically consists of 4 unique stages to take an idea from concept to tangible:

Discovery
Design
Prototype and Testing
Manufacturing

We customize the program to your needs. Not all clients require Discovery phase. Not all clients need design work. We work with the client to define the scope of operation before each stage with a ratified Statement of Work (SOW).

Intellectual Property

Rugged Circuits does not retain any intellectual property to your product. We will deliver all IP necessary to recreate or duplicate your project (including schematics, PCB files, firmware, etc.) at the completion of the project.

FAQs

How much will it cost to design a product or idea that I have?

Answer- There is not a flat rate for our custom design services. Each design is unique with different requirements. Please contact us for more information.

2. How much will it cost to manufacture the final product?

Answer- We can't provide estimates on piece pricing without designing the product first. A Bill of Materials, schematics, and board files are produced during the Design Phase. These are necessary to quote prototype and manufactured quantities. These items drive the price.

3. I have an idea but I don't know if it qualifies for the Rugged Circuits Custom Design Program?

Answer- Volume will offset the cost of a custom designed product. It takes many engineering hours to properly design a product. One-off products, or products for personal use typically don't justify the investment needed to properly design the product.

4. How long does it take for the custom design program?

Answer- Each product is different and brings with it respective timelines. Lead times are based on complexity, budget, and work load. Timelines estimates are generated in SOWs.

Is There a Form to Fill Out?

Every design is different. We will work with you one-on-one to make your custom design a reality. There is no form to fill out because no matter how many questions it had it could not capture the uniqueness of your design.

Send an e-mail to <sales@ruggedcircuits.com> and let us know how we can help.

Sample Work

8-channel relay shield

Our client needed an 8-channel optically isolated solid-state relay shield for Arduino. Each output is a high-side switch that can source 2A of current at 12V (6A total at one time), and has a built-in flyback diode for protection with inductive loads. An ACS712 current sensor is in series with each output for current measurement.

Industrial Controller

Our client needed a custom control system for an industrial machine. Features include triple RS485 outputs, graphic LCD display interface with dimmable backlight (the LCD display mounts directly to the back of the PCB), 4x4 keypad interface, real-time clock, 8 discrete and protected I/O’s, and in-the-field firmware upgrades over USB.

Pressure sensor interface

Our client needed an Arduino-based custom design to provide an interface to an industrial pressure sensor. The design features -40C to +85C operation, protection in an automotive environment, lamp outputs, solenoid outputs, and analog inputs. An irregular board shape was required to fit an existing housing.

Fuel Injector Driver & Switch

Our client needed an automotive multi-channel fuel injector solenoid driver and switch to select between on-board drivers and external drivers. This rugged design fits inside a Cinch ModICE LE enclosure and includes four 15A/6A solenoid drivers and three 4A/1A drivers.

WiFi Servo Controller

Our client needed an Arduino-based custom design with WiFi, multiple servo outputs, GPS connector, and a motor H-bridge output. This tiny board includes a switching regulator to power the board, servos, and H-bridge at up to 2A from 4 AA cells. An innovative circuit uses a soft switch to power on the unit and the same switch to power it off when pressed for 5 seconds.

BMP085 Sensor Shield

Our client needed an Arduino shield with two BMP085 sensors for evaluation. The shield includes an industrial connection to an RS232 port. Total time from project start to shipping 10 units to the customer: two weeks.

Quadrature Decoder

Our client needed a custom shield for the Arduino Mega board. The shield simultaneously decodes six quadrature encoder devices and supports step rates as fast as 25,000 steps per second. Also, both single-ended and differential encoder outputs are supported.