Process

28 Gorilla process:
From napkin sketch to finished spec

Your
idea

Industrial
design

Design for defense /
regulatory

Electrical
engineering

Mechanical
engineering design

Firmware

Software

Prototyping

Design for
manufacturing

Supply chain
management

Quality control
management

Production

How 28 Gorilla helps you close the gaps and cross the finish line

Product development twists, stalls, accelerates, and sometimes hits a wall. But with the right team, the process doesn’t have to be chaotic. At 28 Gorilla, we specialize in the engineering services that keep momentum going.

Whether you’re shaping your first prototype or launching your fifth platform, we help close resource gaps, add technical depth, and carry concepts through to a complete design. Our team can embed with yours or operate independently, offering everything from early-stage concept development to software product development and more.

Collaborative

Problem Solving

Full spectrum expertise

What it’s like to work with 28 Gorilla

We’re engineers and teammates. We work best when we’re asking questions, uncovering constraints and solving problems side-by-side with clients.

Some clients ask us to plug into existing workflows.

Others hand us the whole thing.

Either way, we adapt to ensure products stand out for the right reasons.

services

Our role in the product development cycle

Our team is large enough to have deep expertise, and small enough to remain nimble. Here’s how we help at each major milesone:

Product concept development

Whether you’ve got a sketch, a pitch deck or a spreadsheet of requirements, we help shape it into something buildable. Our concept development work lays the foundation for function, user needs and feasibility.

Requirements definition and system-level planning
Feasibility analysis and technical risk studies
Design tradeoffs and early bill of materials (BOM) planning
User flow mapping and functional architecture
Cross-functional collaboration to align with compliance and business needs

Industrial product design

As an engineering and design firm, we specialize in products that have to look good, feel right, and function under pressure. We work closely with engineering from day one to align every decision to form, fit and manufacturability.

Mechanical engineering design

Our mechanical engineering design services cover everything from internal brackets to rugged housings. We design with durability, thermal performance, and assembly in mind, so your product works just as well in production as it does on paper.

Environmental sealing, gasketing, and IP rating support
Injection mold, machined and sheet metal parts
Structural optimization and thermal management
Tolerance analysis and drawing packages for manufacturing
Component integration for printed circuit boards (PCBs), batteries and connectors

Electrical engineering design

We provide full electrical engineering design services for systems that need to perform in complex environments. From analog to high-speed digital, we support every step of electrical engineering product development.

Mixed-signal and power distribution PCBA layouts
High-speed routing, USB, Ethernet and RF design
EMI and EMC mitigation and pre-compliance testing
Secure boot, encryption and embedded computing
Connector and harness integration
Native design in Altium, Fusion 360 and others

Firmware development

Our firmware developers write code that brings your product to life. We support both bare-metal and embedded Linux across platforms like STM, ARM and Microchip.

Custom firmware development in C and C++
RTOS scheduling, diagnostics and power management
Secure bootloaders and encrypted provisioning
Integration with electrical and mechanical design
Factory test support and remote update features
Firmware development services for regulated and connected devices

Software product development

We build the tools that make your product usable by operators, testers, or end users. Our team provides custom software application development to support every stage of your system.

Complete end-to-end cloud-based integrations
Factory software for serialization and programming
Embedded GUIs and diagnostic dashboards
Tools for provisioning, pairing, and monitoring
Test fixture integration and data visualization
Secure data handoff and backend connectivity
Customized software development for companion tools
Bespoke software development that aligns with your hardware

Prototyping and test planning

We use early prototypes to guide design decisions. By testing key interactions, gasket fits, and connector paths early, we avoid downstream surprises and keep your product on track.

Appearance and functional mockups
Layout validation for connectors and cable routing
Material tests for seals and enclosures
Assembly simulation to catch conflicts
Test plan development based on product goals
Tight feedback loops with the 29Tech lab

Design for manufacturing

Requirements definition and system-level planning
Feasibility analysis and technical risk studies
Design tradeoffs and early bill of materials (BOM) planning
User flow mapping and functional architecture
Cross-functional collaboration to align with compliance and business needs

our manufacturing partner

Made to work with 29Tech

Some engineering firms hand off designs and walk away. We do things differently. As a shared partner with 29Tech, our integrated manufacturing partner, we collaborate closely to ensure every design we deliver is ready to build without delays or guesswork.

Together, we:

Align early on connector layout, ruggedization and test plans
Share feedback during pilot builds to guide design updates
Prototype and test in parallel with design work
Eliminate the risk of context loss between engineering and manufacturing

If you prefer to work with another manufacturer, we can support a smooth transition with clear documentation, production-ready drawings, and testing protocols that make the handoff easy.

28 Gorilla process:From napkin sketch to finished spec