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We design the machine and manage the build and tests through our partners
Design the machine right the first time. Free assessment and roadmap.
Your machines run, but they stop too often and take too long to fix. Parts wear early, guards come off for every adjustment, and the spares list keeps growing. Most of that was decided when the machine was designed, often by copying the last one. If nothing changes, every shift pays for it in lost output, labor, and parts. Our machine design services start from what the machine must do. We check loads and wear in FEA before parts are made. We design parts for the shops that will make them, and we design service access in from the start.
If nothing changes, every shift pays for it. Downtime costs output, maintenance costs labor and parts, and workarounds become normal. A new machine built on the old design repeats the same problems at a higher price.
PPS machine design uses CAD, FEA, and DFMA from the first concept. Loads and wear are checked before parts are made, parts are designed for the shops that will build them, and service access is designed in, not added later.
✓
Downtime keeps stealing output
The same failures stop the line again and again.
✓
Service takes too long
Guards and parts come off for every adjustment.
✓
Parts wear out early
Wear points were never designed for the real duty.
✓
The new machine copies the old one
Old problems carry into every new build.
✓
Custom parts nobody else can make
Single-source parts drive cost and lead time.
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Fixtures slow the operator down
Loading, clamping, and changeover waste time.
Old problems come along
Complexity grows with each fix
Problems found on the floor
Downtime and spares eat the savings
Loads, speeds, cycles, service
Size parts and wear points to the duty
DFMA and access designed in
Each choice checked and priced
The 34% less rework, 51% fewer prototypes, and 37% shorter test phase figures are from the PPS Innovation Edge white paper.
Public benchmark
~50%
Fewer on-site hours, reported
Precedent
Automation firms that commissioned virtually first reported ~50% fewer on-site hours (WSC, 2016).
What it means
Testing a machine and its controls in a model finds errors before the build. With our machine design services, we check loads, motion, and fit in a model before anything is cut. Then we manage the build through our partners.
Lever
Decision it lets you make
Result
Structure
Frames built heavy or weak
Decision
FEA sizes frames and parts to real loads and cycles.
→
Result
Strength only where it's needed. FEA services →
Wear
Parts that wear out early
Decision
Wear points moved, protected, or made replaceable.
→
Result
Longer intervals between repairs. Vibration analysis →
Service
Slow, hard maintenance
Decision
Access, guards, and spares designed for the technician.
→
Result
Faster repairs and less downtime. Reverse engineering services →
Build
Custom, costly parts
Decision
DFMA moves parts to standard processes more shops can run.
→
Result
Lower build cost and wider sourcing. DFMA services →
01
A machine or fixture design ready to build: [CAD design](/engineering-services/cad-design-services/), drawings, BOM, and the analysis behind each choice.
02
FEA and design reviews you approve at each gate, before anything is cut, bought, or built.
03
You own the IP by default. When an OEM or partner manufacturer is involved, the contract spells out who owns what.
04
If we missed it in our QC, we fix it. If your supplier can't make the part within three years, or supply dries up, we fix that too.
You send
What we need to start
Requirements: duty, speeds, loads, and cycle time
Existing drawings or CAD, if you have them
Service history: failures, wear, and downtime
Plant constraints: space, power, and safety
Targets: cost, uptime, or delivery
→
You get
What you hold at the end
Machine design: CAD and drawings ready for quote
A BOM with standard and custom parts flagged
FEA results you approved for loads and wear
A service plan with access and spares
A roadmap for build and support, and a team that stays
We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment.
Bring your own manufacturer or lab, or work with our partner network. We manage the build, and electrical and controls work runs through our partner network. We don't manufacture, so we never compete with the shops we work with.
You approve every design choice and its cost at every gate, so nothing that affects function surprises you. If we missed something in our QC, we fix it. If a supplier can’t make the part within three years, we fix that for you too.
Every hour of downtime is output lost. Get a free roadmap.
Get Your Free RoadmapCrushers, conveyors, and handling machines designed for impact, dust, and repairs far from any shop.
Stop costly downtime.
Applications
Fittings
Housings
Mill, kiln, and packing equipment designed for heat, dust, and wear so plants run longer between stops.
Fewer surprise stops.
Applications
Housings
Assemblies
Skids, fixtures, and handling machines designed for cleaning, validation, and fast changeover on the line.
Pass the review first.
Applications
Frames
Wear Parts
Handling, maintenance, and plant equipment designed so outages are shorter and safer to work through.
Fewer forced outages.
Applications
Fittings
Fabrication
Take cost out of the parts themselves: same function, fewer parts, less material, and wider sourcing.
Lower cost per unit.
Applications
DFMA
FEA
Sourcing
Redesign parts, tooling, and fixtures so your production line can flow, with fewer parts and fewer steps.
Parts that let you flow.
Applications
Fixtures
Uptime
Prototyping, HALT, R&D, reverse engineering, and more. See every problem our engineering team solves.
Find your problem here.
Solutions
Prototyping
HALT
R&D
FEA, CFD, CAD, DFMA, and testing under one roof. Engineering is a team sport, and you get the whole team.
One team, every skill.
Under One Roof
FEA
CFD
CAD
DFMA
Testing
Veteran-owned SDVOSB status gives defense and federal buyers a set-aside path to proven engineering.
Verify our SDVOSB status.
Credentials
SDVOSB
VOSB
CAGE 8ZK73
NAICS 541330
Missed something in our QC? We fix it. Supplier can't make the part within three years? We fix that too.
Support for the long run.
We Fix
Our QC Misses
Supplier Gaps
Supply Chain
We price to the value we deliver, not hours logged. You buy a design that works, not more iterations.
Pay for the result only.
Collections
Gold
Platinum
Diamond
What do your machine design services include?
Our machine design services cover the whole path from an idea to a machine you can build. Many machines are copied from the last one, so old faults come along. We start instead with the duty: what the machine must do, how fast, and under what loads. A machine designed from habit carries its faults into every new build. Wear points stay where they were, and guards still block the parts that need service. OSHA's machine guarding guidance shows why safeguards matter around moving parts. Adding them late often makes service slower. Each fix after startup costs downtime, parts, and labor.
We develop concepts and rank them by cost, uptime, and risk. The chosen concept is designed in CAD, checked in FEA for loads and wear, and reviewed with DFMA for build cost. Guards and service access are designed in from the start. You approve each step before we go on. You get drawings, a BOM, and a supplier package ready for quote, plus support during the build and startup.
Can you redesign a machine we already own?
Yes. Many of our machine design services projects start with a machine you already own. It works, but it fails too often, takes too long to service, or costs too much to build again. Your operators and technicians often know its weak spots best, so we talk to them early. Patching the same failure again and again costs more each time. Each repair means a stop, a crew, and parts on hand. Hard service also means more time spent near stored energy. OSHA's lockout/tagout rules cover that risk during servicing. A machine designed for safe, fast access can cut both the risk and the downtime.
We start with its history: failures, wear, downtime, and the fixes already tried. Then we redesign the parts that matter, not the whole machine, unless it needs it. Loads are checked in FEA, wear points are moved or protected, and service access is improved. Where old parts are single-source, our reverse engineering work redraws them for standard processes. You get updated drawings and a list of what changed and why.
Can PPS work with our manufacturer or test lab?
Yes. Our machine design services work with the builders and labs you already trust, or with our partner network of shops. Many projects use both. What matters is that one engineering team coordinates them, so the builder and the lab always work from the latest released design and data.
When every vendor reports to you separately, you become the integrator. Design changes travel by email, parts get cut to old drawings, and test results arrive without anyone tasked to act on them. The Department of Defense's IPPD Handbook organizes programs around integrated product teams for this reason, with design, manufacturing and test under one shared plan.
PPS manages your builders and test labs inside one engineering loop. We release the design, track every build and test, read the results and make the fix ourselves. Data and NDAs are set up between all parties at the start. You decide how far we take the design, up to the start of production. The IP is yours by default, as set in your contract.
What do you need from us to start?
To start a project with our machine design services, send what you have, in any format. That usually means the machine's duty, speeds, loads, and cycle time, plus any existing drawings or CAD. Add service history, plant constraints such as space and power, and your targets for cost, uptime, or delivery. Photos of worn parts help too. Missing data is the most common reason engineering projects stall, because a model built on guessed inputs gives a guessed answer. That is why we don't start the work until every data set is in.
Once it is, the first step is a free assessment of your project scope. We confirm what the work can and can't answer, and tell you what is still missing. Then we send a roadmap proposal with scope, targets, and approval gates. Every project is scoped on its own, so the roadmap sets the schedule, not a stock promise. NDAs are available before you share any files. For gaps in material data, NIST material measurement data is a good first stop.
Who owns the design and the models?
You own the design, the drawings, and the models from your machine design services project by default, as set in the contract. When an OEM or partner manufacturer is involved, the contract spells out who owns what. Some firms keep the models, or license them back to you, so every later change sends you back to them. That locks your product to one vendor and makes design reviews harder, because your team can't open the evidence behind the decisions. You receive the native CAD, the drawings, the simulation model files, and the documented results. Your engineers can then check the work, rerun a load case, or hand the package to a supplier or customer.
We sign mutual NDAs before any of your data is shared, and your files stay in our controlled project folders while we work. If your program has export-control or customer data rules, tell us at the start and we will set up the data handling to match them. For defense programs, the State Department ITAR guidance sets the rules we follow.
What happens if the machine has problems at startup?
If the machine has problems at startup, we find out why and fix the design. Hard engineering carries unknowns on any project: real loads, material lots, and assembly effects never match a model perfectly. With machine design services from PPS, you approve the data at each gate. A test result is then checked against predictions you have already seen, not a black box. A failure in test is data. It shows which assumption was wrong: a load, a material property, or a boundary condition. That data improves the model and the design.
When testing is in scope, we plan the test to confirm the margins that matter most. Then we correlate the model to the results, following ASME verification and validation practice. If the miss was ours, because something slipped through our QC review, we fix it. If the test uncovers a condition nobody knew about, we scope the change with you and update the roadmap. Either way, you get a clear answer and a path to a design that holds.
How are machine design services priced?
We price machine design services to the value they deliver, not the hours we log. Hourly billing rewards extra iterations, so the cheapest quote often becomes the most expensive project once tooling, rework, and field failures show up. Our incentive is to get the design right the first time. We engage by fit, not as a ladder. Gold (from $35K): you have one project and need help with it. Platinum (from $15K/mo): you have recurring work at a steady rhythm. Diamond (from $800K/yr): you have a long development program, often multi-year.
Gold is never required, and some clients start at Platinum or Diamond. These are starting points, not quotes; your roadmap sets the price. We price to the value we deliver, not the hours we log. If the value isn't there for you, we'll say so in the assessment. Our engineering consultant pricing page explains how each collection works in more detail.
Tired of the same breakdowns? Send the history. Free roadmap.
Send your requirements, drawings, and service history. We review your project scope and machine design needs in a free assessment and reply within one business day with next steps.
On-site assessments that require travel are quoted separately.
