Proof of Concept and Prototype Development
Prove the idea on evaluation hardware before a single board is designed, then build a prototype that is already on the road to production. Firmware, electronics and enclosure prototyped together, reviewed before fabrication, and verified against the requirement you wrote, so what works on the bench is what ships.
What We Deliver
What does a proof of concept build actually prove?
That the hard part of your product works, with evidence you can show an investor, a regulator or your own board. A proof of concept isolates the technical question that decides the product: can the sensor see the signal, can the radio hold the link at this power budget, can the motor be controlled at this precision. We answer it on vendor evaluation kits and reference boards first, because that is the cheapest place to be wrong. Only when the answer is yes do we design custom hardware.
How the work runs
- Feasibility framed as a written question with a pass and fail criterion, agreed before any hardware is touched
- Proof of concept on evaluation kits and reference designs, so the schedule risk sits on the kit and not on a board spin
- Prototype schematic and layout, each followed by a formal review and rework step before anything is fabricated
- A small prototype batch built, brought up and put through engineering validation against the original question
- Verification against your requirement document, with every finding logged, owned and closed
- A written decision at the end of each stage: proceed, change direction, or stop, with the evidence attached
What you receive
- A feasibility report that states what was tested, how, and what the result means for the product
- Working prototype hardware with schematic, layout and firmware source, yours from the first day
- Bench and validation results you can put in front of an investor or a regulator
- A defect log with every finding, its owner and how it was closed
- A scoped plan and effort estimate for the production design, built from what the prototype taught us
- Design files structured so the prototype becomes the first revision of the product, not a throwaway
Types of Prototype
Which kind of prototype do you actually need?
The word prototype covers three very different things, and buying the wrong one wastes months. We scope each stage separately so you pay for the certainty you need at that moment and nothing more.
Feasibility proof of concept
A bench rig on evaluation kits that answers one technical question. Ugly by design, fast by design. Its output is a decision and a report, a hypothesis test to help you decide to dig deep or pivot
- Sensor, radio or motor feasibility
- Algorithm running on the target silicon
- Power budget measured on real hardware
Engineering prototype
Your electronics on your board, in a first enclosure, running your firmware. Reviewed before fabrication and validated after bring-up. This is the prototype that goes to early customers and clinical advisers.
- Custom schematic and PCB layout
- Firmware on the custom board
- Engineering validation testing
Pre-production prototype
The design frozen for manufacturing. Built with the fabricator and assembler you intend to use, tested with the production test procedure, and taken to an accredited laboratory for EMC pre-compliance.
- Design for manufacture review
- Production test procedure proved
- EMC pre-compliance at an accredited laboratory
Most programmes need all three in sequence. Some only need the first. Tell us where you are and we will tell you which one you are buying.
De-Risking
How do you keep a prototype from becoming a dead end?
By designing the first prototype as revision one of the product rather than as a demonstration to be thrown away. The parts are chosen for lifecycle and second sources. The layout follows the rules of a real fabricator. Test points and programming headers are on the board from the start. When the prototype works, the path to production is a revision, not a redesign.
The second discipline is the review gate. A prototype that skips the schematic and layout review does not avoid those faults, it simply moves them onto a fabricated board, where each one costs a spin instead of an afternoon. Reviewing a prototype is not bureaucracy borrowed from production work. It is the cheapest week in the project.
What we check before a prototype is fabricated
- The schematic is checked by a reviewer who did not draw it, against the question the prototype exists to answer
- Manufacturability: the layout is checked against what your chosen factory can actually build, and against the enclosure it has to fit
- Footprints are checked against the parts actually ordered, so bring-up is not lost to a wrong pad
- Every part is checked for lifecycle and a second source, so a working prototype can still be built in two years
- The build quantity is agreed against the test plan, so you are not paying for boards nobody will use
- The bench rig is documented well enough that a second engineer gets the same reading as the first
Every prototype revision is tracked as its own line of work, with a design change notice that says what changed and why.
Into Production
How does a working prototype become a manufacturable product?
Through the same gated plan our full product programmes run on, starting from where the prototype left off. A preliminary design review confirms the prototype learning has been carried into the production design. A critical design review freezes it. A test readiness review confirms verification can begin. Each gate has written acceptance criteria and your signature.
Because the prototype was already reviewed for manufacturability, the production revision is about volume: approved vendor lists, a production test procedure proved on the pilot batch, EMC and safety testing at an accredited laboratory, and a transfer package your contract manufacturer can quote from. We stay through the first production run. More on our medical device software development page.
Medical device prototyping
- Prototypes built inside your quality system from the first revision, so the design history file starts with the prototype rather than after it
- Risk management under ISO 14971 begun at the proof of concept, when hazards are cheapest to design out
- Firmware developed to IEC 62304 practices from the prototype onwards, so nothing has to be rewritten to become submittable
- Verification evidence produced as the work proceeds, in the form your submission will need
Quality
How do you know the prototype result is real?
Because the pass criterion was written before the test, the test was run on real hardware, and the result is in a report you can hand to someone who was not in the room. A prototype that works when the engineer holds it a certain way has proved nothing.
Question written first
Every proof of concept starts with a written technical question and a pass and fail criterion agreed with you. The result is measured against that, not against enthusiasm.
Reviewed before fabrication
Prototype schematics and layouts go through the same documented review as production designs, with named owners and every finding closed before release.
Measured on real hardware
Power, timing, range and accuracy are measured on the bench and recorded. Sleep current is measured, not read off a datasheet.
Decision with evidence
Each stage ends with a written proceed, change or stop recommendation, with the data attached, so the decision is yours and it is informed.
Why Pinetics
Why prototype with a team that also takes products to production?
100,000+ engineering hours delivered and counting.
Because a prototype shop hands you a demonstration and a product engineering team hands you revision one. Every hour we log is booked to a named task, so you see exactly what a feasibility phase cost and what it produced. Prototypes we build carry the same review gates, defect logs and documented decisions as our full programmes, which is why they survive contact with manufacturing.
What we bring
- Hardware, firmware, mechanical and test engineering on one prototype, under one accountable programme manager
- Founder-led engineering that stays in the room from feasibility to first production run
- Fixed-price feasibility phases, with materials and laboratory fees at actuals and only with your prior approval
- A statement of work that carries scope, acceptance criteria, escalation path and intellectual property terms before you sign
Expertise
Founder-led engineering. Our leadership carries 20+ years in electronics and firmware and reviews every prototype design personally before it goes to fabrication.
Technology
Evaluation kits and reference designs across the major silicon families, so a proof of concept starts on the bench in days rather than waiting for a board.
Transparency
Named tasks, tracked defects, written decisions and a defect log you can open at any time. You always know what the prototype has proved and what it has not.
Common Questions
What should you ask before commissioning a prototype?
Three questions separate a prototype you can build on from one you will throw away. Will it be designed so it can become the product, or only demonstrated once? Is there a review before fabrication, with findings you can read? And who owns the files when it is done? We design for production from revision one, review every board before it is fabricated, and the intellectual property is yours from the first day.
A feasibility phase is scoped as a fixed-price piece of work with a written question and a pass and fail criterion, so you know the cost before you commit and you commit to that phase only. Duration depends on the question; a single-sensor or single-radio feasibility on evaluation kits is measured in weeks, a full engineering prototype with custom boards in months. Any partner who quotes a duration before understanding the question is guessing.
Yes. Many engagements end at the feasibility report, and the report, the test rig and the source code are yours to take anywhere. The plan is modular by design: proof of concept, engineering prototype, pre-production prototype and production design are separate phases with their own acceptance criteria.
Yes, and it is one of the most common requests we receive. The work starts with a documented review of what exists: schematic, layout, firmware and the results you have. The review tells you which parts carry forward and which need a redesign before manufacturing, and why.
Yes. Medical prototypes are built inside your quality system from the first revision, with ISO 14971 risk management started at the proof of concept and firmware developed to IEC 62304 practices from the beginning, so the prototype becomes the start of the design history file rather than something that has to be redone to become submittable. Our medical device software development page describes the software side in detail.
As many as the validation plan needs and no more. A first engineering batch is typically a handful of assemblies, enough for bring-up, environmental and functional testing and a unit or two for your own evaluation. Pilot batches for pre-production prototypes are sized with your manufacturer.
Then it has done its job. The feasibility report says what was tried, what the result was and what it means, and the recommendation may be to change direction or to stop. A clear no at the proof of concept stage costs a fraction of the same no after tooling.
Yes, from the first day. Schematic, layout, mechanical and firmware source files, the build environment and the test results are yours. The intellectual property terms are in the statement of work before you sign it.
Yes. Most products we prototype need an enclosure and many need a mobile or cloud interface, and a prototype without them proves less than it appears to. Mechanical and application work are scoped as their own phases alongside the electronics and firmware.
Yes, and most first conversations start that way. Send yours or ask for ours.