https://www.raakdesign.com/insights Practical articles from RAAK's designers and engineers on cost, process, engineering and manufacturing. en https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/when-to-hire-an-external-industrial-design-agencyhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/when-to-hire-an-external-industrial-design-agencyWed, 28 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMTAn honest decision framework from a studio that has an obvious interest in the answer, including the situations where we tell people to keep the work inside. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/a-sensor-that-disappears-hardware-for-museumshttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/a-sensor-that-disappears-hardware-for-museumsWed, 21 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMTCharp's climate monitors sit next to irreplaceable artworks. The design brief was to be precise, reliable and almost invisible. Notes on designing for a space that is not yours. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/what-early-stage-hardware-founders-need-from-a-design-studiohttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/what-early-stage-hardware-founders-need-from-a-design-studioWed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMTIt is rarely a beautiful rendering. From the founders we have worked with, the needs that matter most and the ones that look important but are not. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/certification-before-stylinghttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/certification-before-stylingWed, 23 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMTCompliance testing is rarely the reason a product is late. Not planning for it is. What to decide in the first month so the last month is not a surprise. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/design-for-repair-what-it-costs-and-what-it-is-worthhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/design-for-repair-what-it-costs-and-what-it-is-worthWed, 09 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMTRepairability is becoming a regulation in Europe and a selling point everywhere. What it changes in a design, what it adds to the unit cost, and where it pays back. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/how-to-prepare-a-product-for-injection-mouldinghttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/how-to-prepare-a-product-for-injection-mouldingWed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMTThe rules we apply to every moulded part before a tool is quoted, and the three mistakes we see most often in CAD that arrives from elsewhere. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/ten-years-of-raak-what-changed-in-product-developmenthttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/ten-years-of-raak-what-changed-in-product-developmentWed, 19 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMTWe started in Leuven in 2016 with two designers and no clients. A short, honest list of what is different about making hardware now, and what is not. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/designing-in-europe-manufacturing-in-chinahttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/designing-in-europe-manufacturing-in-chinaWed, 05 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMTMost product companies in Europe will produce something in Asia at some point. The ones that do it well treat the factory as part of the design team, not as a file recipient. This is how that works in practice, and when China is the wrong answer. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/from-prototype-to-mass-productionhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/from-prototype-to-mass-productionWed, 22 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMTA working prototype feels like the finish line. It is roughly the halfway point. Here are the twelve things between a prototype and a product you can ship, in the order they usually bite. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/the-case-for-calm-hardwarehttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/the-case-for-calm-hardwareWed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 GMTMost products we are asked to design are trying too hard. A note on restraint, why it is harder than it looks, and what it does for a brand. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/fixed-fee-or-hourly-how-we-price-product-developmenthttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/fixed-fee-or-hourly-how-we-price-product-developmentWed, 24 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMTWe quote fixed fees per phase, with a review gate between each. Here is why that works for hardware, and the two situations where we charge by the hour instead. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/colour-material-and-finish-decide-it-earlyhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/colour-material-and-finish-decide-it-earlyWed, 10 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMTCMF is often treated as the last step. It is a manufacturing decision with tooling, cost and lead-time consequences, and it belongs in the engineering phase. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/medical-instruments-patients-are-not-afraid-ofhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/medical-instruments-patients-are-not-afraid-ofWed, 27 May 2026 09:00:00 GMTAn ENT instrument that has looked the same for a century, redesigned to light itself, work in one hand and survive the autoclave. What that took. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/pilot-batch-what-to-check-before-mass-productionhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/pilot-batch-what-to-check-before-mass-productionWed, 13 May 2026 09:00:00 GMTThe pilot batch is the last cheap moment to change your mind. A checklist of what we inspect, measure and sign before a factory starts the main run. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/choosing-the-enclosure-processhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/choosing-the-enclosure-processWed, 29 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMTThe enclosure process is usually decided by volume, heat and feel. A short guide to the trade-offs we walk through on every electronics product. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/why-the-housing-is-part-of-the-sensor-xenolidar-g6https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/why-the-housing-is-part-of-the-sensor-xenolidar-g6Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMTA lidar housing has to cool, seal, mount and look like an instrument. On the G6 those four jobs were designed as one part, not four. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/brand-activation-objects-designing-for-a-bar-not-a-shelfhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/brand-activation-objects-designing-for-a-bar-not-a-shelfWed, 25 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMTAn ice bucket in a venue is handled a hundred times a night by people who do not own it. That changes everything about how it is designed and made. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/three-products-in-one-frame-anex-iq-strollerhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/three-products-in-one-frame-anex-iq-strollerWed, 11 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMTA carrycot, a seat and a buggy on one frame sounds like a feature. In engineering it is three products that have to agree on every hinge. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/tolerances-the-conversation-that-saves-the-most-moneyhttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/tolerances-the-conversation-that-saves-the-most-moneyWed, 25 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMTMost part cost is decided by what you ask the factory to guarantee. How to decide which dimensions matter and let the rest go. https://www.raakdesign.com/insights/the-brief-we-wish-every-client-senthttps://www.raakdesign.com/insights/the-brief-we-wish-every-client-sentWed, 11 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMTA good brief is one page and answers eight questions. It makes the quote faster, the design better and the arguments shorter.