Engineering technical creativity

Engineering
technical creativity

Great products need great engineering

Our highly skilled engineers and first class facilities allow us to take on challenging and high-tech projects and solve a wide variety of engineering challenges. Our engineering activities include:

  • Design for manufacture and assembly
  • Material and process selection
  • Cost reduction / value engineering
  • CAD Design
  • Engineering Analysis - CFD, FEA and Thermodynamics
  • Mechanisms and systems
  • Testing and experimentation
  • Electronics hardware and software.

Design for manufacture & assembly

Design for
manufacture & assembly

DFMA

To be a great design, a product not only needs to work well but also must be manufactured reliably.

The design of each component needs to take into account the materials and manufacturing processes in order to create a design which is as functionally and cost effective as possible.

Material & process selection

Material &
process selection

Selection of the right material goes hand-in-hand with selection of the manufacturing process. IDC’s engineers can advise you on the best materials and process for your application.

Factors for material and process selection

  • Aesthetics, form and feel
  • Size and shape
  • Mechanical and electrical properties
  • Chemical and fire resistance
  • Safety, traceability, biocompatibility and sterility
  • Sustainability
  • Production volumes and tooling budgets
  • Cost targets

We understand and have experience of designing products using processes which include:

Plastics and composites

Injection moulding, thermoforming, extrusion, blow moulding, rotational moulding, RIM, pre-preg and RTM, vacuum casting, compression moulding and machining

Metals

Machining, fabrication, extrusion, stamping, pressing and deep drawing, sand casting, die casting and investment casting, metal injection moulding, sintering and spinning

Ceramics

Blowing, moulding, casting and ceramic injection moulding

Natural materials and textiles

Wood working, card engineering and textile design and specification

Joining

Adhesives, welding, riveting, bolting

Finishing

Spray painting, powder coating, printing, embossing, plating, anodising, vacuum metalising, etching and engraving

Engineering analysis CFD, FEA & thermodynamics

Engineering analysis
CFD, FEA & thermodynamics

Combining engineering science with the latest developments in computer analysis, we refine and predict the performance of components, products and systems before committing to the time and expense of manufacture and testing.

Simulation for optimised solutions

We use engineering analysis to reduce the number of prototypes, and thereby the cost and time to get to a final design. Depending on the part and application, we select the most appropriate approach for each project to get to the best solution in the most efficient way. Our capabilities include:

  • Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics including calculations and CFD for analysis of fluid flows and heat transfer problems. Our experience includes the electronics cooling, optimisation of domestic appliances, design of novel refrigeration systems and wind drag of external structures
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for analysis of the stress, stiffness and safety of mechanical components
  • Dynamics simulations for complex mechanisms, linkages and moving parts.

Through partners we can provide complex optical analysis and design and other types of specialised analyses.

Mechanisms for reliable performance

Mechanisms for
reliable performance

Our experience of developing complex mechanisms allows innovation and cost reduction without compromising reliability.

Reliable mechanisms at every scale

Whether intricate plastic parts for drug delivery and dose counters or high strength power tools for construction sites, complex mechanisms feature in many of the innovative products we develop.

Our process includes conceiving appropriate and effective mechanisms, building and testing proof of principle prototypes and creating detailed tolerance manufacturing drawings. IDC’s mechanical and electronics engineers work together to develop electro-mechanical and mechatronics systems to automate machinery and develop smart systems.