Product engineering
A 3-axis gimbal for serial production
Parts designed for injection moulding, checked with FEA before tooling is committed.
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I'm designing a new product
Product Development
From the technical idea to a product ready for production. Parts and assemblies designed with their function, material, cost and manufacturing method analysed at the same time.
Why it is not simple
A product is designed once. It is made thousands of times.
Most development problems do not show on the screen. A part that looks right in CAD may need an expensive mould, may warp, may not assemble reliably, or may cost more than the product can carry. These are discovered late, when every change is expensive.
We design with the production method, the material and the cost on the table from the first sketch, so the decisions that fix the product's cost are taken knowingly.
Our deepest expertise is in plastic parts and assemblies. For other processes we design to the process rules and work directly with the supplier who will make the part.
Complete development
Production-ready 3D models, drawings, engineering checks and a report with the design specifications.
Support for your designers
We review and advise, so the parts your team models can be made reliably and economically.
What we do not do
Styling, branding or graphic design. Where a product needs an industrial designer for its appearance, we work alongside one.
3D CAD / mechanical design
Design decisions that hold up in production.
Parts and assemblies, mechanisms, parametric 3D models and manufacturing drawings, designed for the specific process that will make them.
01
Manufacturing process
The most reliable and economical process for the part's requirements, its complexity and the production volume.
Material and process selection02
Parts, assemblies and mechanisms
Parametric 3D models with manufacturing accuracy, assembly verification and motion checks of mechanisms.
03
Manufacturing drawings
Drawings with the tolerances that matter for function and assembly, and renders where the product has to be shown before it exists.
04
Engineering checks
Structural analysis where the question needs more than a hand calculation.
Strength and performance analysis05
Design for manufacturing
Wall thickness, draft, ribs, parting line and joining methods settled while changes are still cheap.
DfM06
Production strategy
Make-vs-buy, local or overseas manufacturing, and reliable suppliers for tools, materials and standard components.
Processes we design for Injection moulding · Pressure die-casting · CNC machining · Sheet metal · Composites · Rubber parts · 3D printing
Prototyping
Test the design before the mould is ordered.
A prototype is worth making when it answers a question the model cannot. We choose the kind of prototype by the question:
- Form and fit. Printed models to check size, ergonomics and how the parts go together.
- Functional prototypes. In materials close to production, for function and even certification tests. For moulded designs we prepare printing variants of the same parts, so the prototype tests the design that will actually be moulded.
- Small trial series. Where it makes sense: aluminium soft tools or printed mould inserts, for tens to a few thousand parts.
3D printing
A part that fits and survives the duty, not just a print.
Prototypes, special parts and auxiliary or functional parts: fixtures, grippers, and machinery parts that are no longer available. We measure and redesign the part for printing, specify it, have it printed in polymer or metal by the right partner, and check it before it reaches you.
efce's founder set up and ran a Greek 3D-printing service company with polymer and metal printers. That is where the practical knowledge comes from: which process and material survive a given duty, what a printed part's real strength and tolerances are, what finishing it needs, and where prints fail.
| Material | Typical use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PLA | Visual models and mock-ups | Easy to print; loses strength just above 55 °C and is unsuitable outdoors. |
| PETG | Functional mechanical parts, indoor and outdoor | Tough, more elastic than PLA, heat deflection around 68 °C. |
| ASA | Outdoor parts exposed to sunlight | Excellent UV resistance, heat deflection around 93 °C. |
| Polypropylene | Chemical resistance, living hinges, lightweight parts | Good fatigue and wear resistance; the same family as many moulded parts. |
| Engineering polymers | Higher loads and temperatures | Polyamides, polycarbonate and fibre-reinforced grades, chosen to match the duty. |
| Resins (SLA / DLP) | Fine detail and smooth surfaces | Cosmetic models and small precise parts; tough and high-temperature grades exist. |
| Metals | Metal parts where machining is impractical | Through specialised metal additive partners, with post-machining where tolerances require it. |
How we work
From requirements to a design ready for tooling.
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Requirements
Function, loads, environment, standards, target cost and expected quantities.
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Concept, process and material
Alternative concepts compared, with the manufacturing method and material chosen early.
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Detailed design and checks
3D models, assembly and tolerance checks, and analysis where the question needs it.
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Prototypes and tests
The questions the model cannot answer are answered on real parts.
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Handover to production
Final models, drawings and specifications for the toolmaker and suppliers, and support until the first parts are approved.
Related projects
Real projects.
Completed Project · Patent Granted
See the project
One engineer, the whole chain
Transportable composite hangar, a product of DASYC SA. Nikos Efentakis invented it and patented the invention, designed the production line, took charge of production, designed the assembly method and the special assembly fixtures, and supervised the installation of three hangars for the Hellenic Air Force.
Invention → Patent → Production line → Production → Assembly method → Installation
Discuss your new product.
Tell us what the product has to do, the quantities you expect and what exists so far: sketches, a previous version, a competitor's product. We will tell you plainly how we would take it to production.
Complimentary first site visit & analysis
Custom proposal, regardless of project scale
Strict confidentiality & NDA protection