Concept and structural design (mechanical design outsourcing)

Concept design is the stage where you decide how a product will work, before you decide what it looks like. Taking the required function, performance, cost and production method together, you choose the skeleton: the type of mechanism, how the product is split into parts, the materials and processes, and the order of assembly. That skeleton cannot be undone later, so the cost and lead time of the whole development are largely fixed here.

Structural and detail design is the stage that turns that skeleton into something that can actually be made — dimensions, tolerances, strength calculations and drawings, worked through until it is ready for production.

What sets Simptech apart is that one firm carries all three without a handover. When only the concept is outsourced, proposals that cannot actually be made tend to come back. When the concept is drawn by someone who has taken products through to production, that rework does not happen.

Structural design is normally treated as work that never leaves the company. The reason is straightforward: without knowing the important design requirements and evaluation criteria, an outsider cannot produce a concept that meets the company's own standards.

But that is also why ideas harden, and why new thinking becomes hard to come by.

Our concept design service exists as a second opinion for manufacturers. We put forward the options that were hard to raise internally precisely because they satisfy the design requirements and evaluation criteria — fresh options that combine mechanical engineering with software and other technologies, and that can re-make how you build your product. We optimise product quality and performance, and we go further: we design for what is best for the business as a whole.

We work flexibly — joining a project part-way through, short consulting engagements, or a long-term partnership.

With the pace of AI, business conditions now change faster than they used to. To keep your competitive edge and not miss chances to grow, it matters to draw information from many channels and get the most out of what your company already has. We would like to take on the work of creating value beyond the existing boundaries together with you.

Is it safe to outsource concept design on its own?

Concept design tends to be treated as work that stays inside, because without the design requirements and evaluation criteria an outsider cannot draw a concept that fits the company's standards. Simptech has written it into how the company works: we start from design standards that hold up in volume production, keep procurement and production in view, and only put forward what can be made. See what Simptech's design rests on.

At what stage can you join?

We can join development that is already running, or take a short engagement giving an outside view on the direction of a concept. A long-term partnership is also possible. A conversation about just the part that is stuck is perfectly fine.

If we outsource design, does the knowledge leave the company?

The act of handing work outside forces the design, manufacturing and quality requirements to be put into words. That written record stays with you. And with an outside view in the room, options that were hard to raise internally can be laid on the table.

How is confidentiality handled?

Even for projects we can name as clients, the content is covered by confidentiality agreements and is not disclosed. Confidentiality matters before a contract exists as well, so we publish how we handle non-disclosure, based on the model agreement from the Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.