Design & Drafting
Machine & Industrial Equipment Design Services
Special-purpose machines, production equipment, conveyors, fixtures and gear drives designed from the brief to a release-ready drawing package — with the sizing calculations, FEA checks and manufacturability reviews done before anything is cut. Delivered by engineers who have designed presses, cutting machines, carton machinery and gearboxes that are running today.
Service Overview
Design-Office Capacity For Machine Builders
Machine builders rarely run out of orders; they run out of design hours. We take a defined machine, module or mechanism from your concept or specification through layout, detail design and manufacturing drawings, working in your CAD and to your standards so the package drops straight into your production system. You keep control of the concept and the sign-off; we supply the engineering hours and the checks.
Our machine work includes a carton cutting and sizing machine, a carton folding machine, a hydraulic press with automatic feeder, a CNC cutting machine, custom mechanisms, structural guides and a family of industrial gearboxes — each delivered as a parametric assembly with GA, detail and BOM-complete drawings.
- Concept layouts with motion studies, cycle-time and reach checks
- Mechanism design: linkages, cams, indexers, grippers and transfer units
- Frame and structure design with FEA for deflection, stress and fatigue
- Drive sizing: motors, gearboxes, belts, chains, bearings, shafts and couplings
- Pneumatic and hydraulic actuation layouts; guarding and access design
- Complete manufacturing packages: machined parts, weldments, sheet metal, bought-out BOM
What this service is not: We do not supply electrical panels, PLC programming or on-site commissioning; we design and document the mechanical machine and coordinate interfaces with your controls team.
What's Included
Machine Design Capabilities
Special-Purpose Machines
Purpose-built machines for a single product or process — feeding, cutting, forming, assembly and test stations — designed around your cycle time and footprint.
Industrial & Production Equipment
Presses, cutting machines, processing equipment and plant modules from specification through manufacturing drawings.
Conveyors & Material Handling
Belt, roller and chain conveyors, transfer units, hoppers and chutes sized for the product, throughput and duty cycle.
Jigs, Fixtures & Tooling
Welding, machining, assembly and inspection fixtures with locating schemes, clamping forces and tolerance analysis.
Gearboxes & Drives
Spiral bevel, helical, planetary and twin-shaft gearboxes; shaft, bearing and housing design with sectional GAs.
Guarding & Safety Design
Fixed and interlocked guarding, access and maintenance clearances designed to ISO 12100 and ANSI B11.0 risk-reduction principles.
What We Need From You
Inputs We Work From
Send whatever you have. We list anything missing or ambiguous in a query sheet and agree it with you before modelling starts — nothing is assumed silently.
- A specification, brief or problem statement — even one page is enough to start
- Product samples or drawings of the parts the machine handles
- Footprint, utilities, throughput, duty cycle and operator constraints
- Preferred bought-out brands (motors, gearboxes, pneumatics, bearings, linear guides)
- Your CAD platform, drawing template and standards; any existing modules to reuse
- The target market so guarding and documentation suit its machinery regulations
What You Receive
Deliverables & File Formats
Design stage
- Concept layouts and 3D proposals for review
- Motion studies, cycle-time estimates and reach/clearance checks
- Sizing calculations for drives, shafts, bearings, springs and actuators
Release package
- Parametric assembly in your native CAD with configurations
- GA, sub-assembly and detail drawings with BOMs and balloons
- Weldment cut lists, sheet metal flat patterns and DXFs
Validation
- FEA reports for frames and loaded members (static, deflection, modal where relevant)
- Design review notes and a manufacturability (DFM) summary
- Technical-file-ready drawings and calculation records for your conformity assessment
Native files in your platform and version (older versions on request), plus neutral STEP AP214/AP242, IGES, Parasolid, DXF and PDF as needed.
Standards & Platforms
Drawn To Your Standard, Delivered In Your CAD
We work to the drawing and design standards your market specifies. Editions below are current as of October 2026.
Standards we apply
- ISO 12100:2010 and ANSI B11.0-2023 — Risk-reduction principles applied to guarding, access and hazardous zones; conformity assessment remains with the manufacturer
- EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — Applies from 20 January 2027 (replacing Directive 2006/42/EC); drawings and calculations organised for the technical file
- UK Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 — UKCA or CE marking routes for Great Britain; CE recognition continues
- AGMA / ISO 6336 — Gear rating used in gearbox and drive sizing where applicable
- ASME Y14.5-2018 / ISO GPS / BS 8888:2025 — Drawing standards for the release package, to your market
- AWS A2.4:2020 / ISO 2553:2019 — Weld symbols on frames and weldments
Native CAD platforms
You receive editable native files, not just exports. We do not advertise platforms we cannot deliver natively.
How The Work Runs
Our Process For This Service
Brief and feasibility
We review the brief, confirm the cycle time, footprint and interfaces, and quote the design stages with a fixed price per stage.
Concept and layout
Two or three layout options with motion studies; you choose the direction before detail design starts.
Detail design
Parts, drives, frames and guarding are detailed with calculations and FEA where loads matter, in your CAD and template.
Release and support
Checked drawings, BOMs and calculation records are released; we support build queries and the first engineering changes.
Worked Example
Carton Cutting & Sizing Machine
A carton cutting and sizing machine designed from the brief through the complete manufacturing package: the cutting head and feed mechanism, drive sizing, the welded frame with FEA deflection checks, guarding, and GA, detail and BOM drawings in SolidWorks and AutoCAD.
- Industry: Packaging
- Software: SolidWorks, AutoCAD
Engagement Models
Three Ways To Work With Us
Every quote states scope, deliverables, formats, standard, revision rounds and deadline. Prices are quoted per project — in USD, EUR, GBP, AUD or INR.
Fixed price per job
Best for defined scopes — a drawing set, a conversion batch, one analysis. You know the total before work starts.
Hourly with a cap
For evolving design work where scope is still forming. Hours are logged, reported weekly and never exceed the agreed cap without your sign-off.
Dedicated engineer
A named engineer reserved for your work, month by month, on your templates and in your CAD — an extension of your own design office.
Confidentiality & IP
Your Designs Stay Yours
NDA before files
We sign your NDA, or send ours, before a single drawing is shared.
IP assigned to you
Models, drawings and calculations are your property on payment. We keep no rights.
Named engineer
Only the engineers on your job can open your files. You deal with them directly.
Deleted on request
Project data is removed from our systems when you ask, with written confirmation.
Technical FAQ
Questions Engineers Ask Us
Can you design a machine from a one-page brief, or do you need a full specification?
How do you size motors, gearboxes and bearings?
Who is responsible for CE or UKCA marking of the finished machine?
Do you use our preferred bought-out components?
Can you take over a half-finished design from another supplier?
Do you offer FEA on the machine frame?
What about the electrical and controls design?
Explore More
Related Services & Industries
Sheet Metal & Fabrication Drawings
Flat patterns, DXFs, weldments and fabrication drawing packages.
Learn moreSend Us The Job — We'll Scope It Honestly
Drawings, a sketch, a scan or just a description. You get an itemised quote and a timeline, usually within one business day, under NDA if you prefer.