Electronics Design & Development Services

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Get it right
from the start

Most of a product’s cost is fixed at the design stage. NOTE in the UK reviews your design for manufacture and plans your test strategy before a single prototype is built, so problems are fixed while changes are still cheap.

Book a DfM review
See what we do

Product design · DfM review · Test development

Electronics manufacturing production line at NOTE in the UK

Your product’s lifecycle

Where development sits
in your product’s life

  1. 01DevelopmentYou are here
  2. 02PrototypingExplore →
  3. 03SourcingExplore →
  4. 04ManufacturingExplore →
  5. 05After-sales and EOLExplore →

01 · Development · You are here

Product design, DfM review and test development, so your board is ready to build from day one.

Next stage: Prototyping →

What we do at this stage

Development services
at NOTE

Working alongside your design team, our engineers look at how your product will be built, tested and costed while the design can still change. The same team then supports your product through prototyping and volume production across our six UK sites in Windsor, Haddenham, Basildon, Wolverhampton, Hook and Poynton.

Talk to our team

01

Product
design

We work with your design team, or with recommended design partners we use, to balance function, performance and ease of production from the first design decision. Get details here.

02

Design for
manufacture (DfM)

A structured review of your PCB layout and component choices against our process capability, before any boards are built. It picks up placement problems, test access and cost savings.

03

Test
development

Test coverage, in-circuit and functional test approaches, and custom fixtures built for your product, so reliability is designed in rather than added on later.

04

One team into
production

The engineers who review your design support your prototypes, NPI and volume production, so decisions made now already fit the process they move into.

Illuminated microchip on a dark circuit board

Why start early

Why bring us in
at the design stage

01

Fix problems before
boards exist

Placement, soldering and test access issues are found on screen, not on the production line.

02

Plan test
with the design

Test points and fixtures are agreed while the layout can still make room for them.

03

Avoid costly
board respins

A respin late in the programme costs time and money. An early DfM review is the cheapest way to avoid one.

04

Lower cost
at volume

Up to 70% of product cost is fixed at the design stage.

How a DfM review works

What to send us and
what you get back

You send

  • PCB layout or Gerber files
  • Bill of materials (BOM)
  • Assembly drawings, if you have them
  • Expected volumes and timescales

We send back

  • DfM findings, ranked by impact
  • A recommended test approach
  • A quote for your first prototypes

Next stage · 02

Prototyping

Once the design is signed off, the same team builds your first boards and manages the handover into volume production.

Explore Prototyping →

What Our Customers Say

  • Industrial product design

    NOTE’s DfM review on our initial design caught three issues that would have caused real problems at volume: component placement that would have hurt yield, and a test access point we hadn’t considered. That single review probably saved us a full design cycle.
    Head of Engineering,
    Industrial Controls Manufacturer

  • Communications test development

    We needed a partner who could build a custom test fixture for a fairly unusual product configuration. NOTE’s test development team understood the requirement immediately and had a working fixture ready well ahead of our prototype build.
    VP Operations,
    Communications OEM

  • MedTech product development

    Working with NOTE in the UK from the design stage rather than just at manufacturing meant our DfM, prototyping and volume production were handled by people who already understood our product. That continuity made a genuine difference to our launch timeline.
    Director of Engineering,
    Medical Device OEM

Frequently asked questions
Electronics development

A: DfM is a structured review of a product’s design against the realities of the manufacturing process, done before any boards are built. It picks up component placement issues, soldering challenges, test access constraints and cost savings, so they are fixed while changes are still cheap.

A: As early as possible, ideally before the first prototype is built, while design changes are still inexpensive. NOTE in the UK carries out DfM review during the design and development phase, ahead of NPI and prototyping.

A: Test development covers the strategy and tooling needed to prove a product works correctly and reliably. That includes defining test coverage, choosing methods such as in-circuit test (ICT) or functional test, and building custom fixtures for the product.

A: We work alongside your own design team, or we can introduce you to recommended design partners we use. Either way, our engineers review the design for manufacture and test, so it is ready for reliable, cost-effective production. Get details here.

A: The same engineering team supports DfM, test development, prototyping, NPI and volume manufacturing. Design decisions made in development already fit the process they move into, avoiding the delays and re-qualification risk of switching partners.

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