B Duncan Ltd
Prototyping & Product Development
Proof-of-concept prototypes and full product development, from first idea to production.
Overview
Concept to production
We take products through requirements, design, prototyping, testing, and into production, or join at whichever stage you need. Delivered across small IoT devices, medium-voltage power controllers, and appliances.
A proof of concept is often the first step: proving out the hardest part before you commit to a full development budget.
Why us
Why choose us
Whole-lifecycle capability
Requirements, design, prototyping, testing, and production support, end to end.
Sign-off at every stage
Each stage ends with your approval, so scope and budget stay visible.
Equipped to test
Bring-up, measurement, and long-duration testing happen in our own lab, by the team that did the design.
Approach
Choosing the hardware approach
We put real time into upfront research so the hardware approach fits your production volume, budget, and specification, rather than assuming one. Where an off-the-shelf module de-risks a low-volume product or gets a proof of concept moving faster, we say so, and put the effort into the software instead.
Custom Electronics
Proprietary analogue and digital design with embedded firmware. Best for high-volume, low-cost production.
Off-the-Shelf Modules
Proven hardware with a software-led solution on top. Best for low volumes and faster proof of concept.
Combined
Custom and pre-built components combined. The usual cost and performance balance at medium volumes.
Process
A four-stage process with sign-off gates
Each stage ends with your approval before the next begins. This is the main thing protecting a fixed budget from an open-ended project, and it is why the stages are defined by what gets signed off rather than by what gets built.
1. Requirements You specify what the product has to do. We propose solutions with rough cost estimates against three headings: business (manufacturing cost, volume, lead time, IP protection, development budget), functional and technical (interface, comms, diagnostics, battery life, fail-safe behaviour), and environmental (dimensions, serviceable parts, the compliance regime it has to meet).
2. Technical specification The system is divided into electronics, software, and mechanical. Risks are analyzed and the high-risk items identified, with prototyping used specifically to retire the uncertainty rather than to build the easy parts first.
3. Design Detailed documentation, design decision matrices, UML and block diagrams, circuit diagrams, updated risk assessments, test plans, and a project plan.
4. Implementation PCB layout, firmware, mechanical drawings, BOM, manufacturing instructions, pilot production runs, user manuals, and application notes. Testing runs to the written procedures, with automated test scripts and long soak tests where the product warrants them. The project closes when you receive the documentation set and the product.
Lab
Our prototyping lab
Our Auckland lab holds maintained test gear, development kits, ovens and freezers, dynos, and measurement equipment.
Bring-up, assembly of prototypes from delivered boards, measurement, and long-duration testing happen here, by the same team that designed the product.
FAQ
Common questions
Can you help before we have a firm specification?
Yes. Stage one turns your requirements into a specification and a costed plan you can commit budget against, without committing to the full build.
How much does a product development cost?
It depends on the specification, so the first stage exists partly to produce one. Rough cost estimates come with the proposed solutions at the end of stage one, alongside the risk analysis, which is the point at which a real number becomes possible.
Do you manufacture?
We take a design to the point a contract manufacturer can build it, including BOM, assembly documentation, and production test, and we support bring-up with your manufacturer.
What if we only need part of it?
Common. Firmware onto someone else’s hardware, an electronics design to your specification, or a review before you commit to production are all standalone engagements.
How do you handle compliance?
The compliance regime is identified in stage one, because it constrains the design. EMC is tested through development in our own pre-compliance lab rather than discovered at certification.
Related services
Electronics Design
The mixed-signal electronics design that underpins a new product, from concept schematic through to a manufacturable, compliance-ready board, with the firmware developed by the same team so hardware and software fit.
Embedded Firmware
The real-time firmware that brings the product to life, developed alongside the electronics by the same engineering team.
EMC Pre-Compliance Testing
EMC tested through development in our own pre-compliance lab, so compliance is designed in rather than discovered at the end.