Development process
Your product, from first spec to production
No two smart-device programmes share a price sheet: the mechanism, the camera, the cloud and the approvals all move the number. Every project starts with a paid development phase (NRE), and samples are paid. We do not sell off-the-shelf products; here is how a project runs and what we put in writing.
Three ways to run a development project
Production engineering for your design
Your housing and PCB are already done. We review them for manufacturability, cut the moulds, prepare production and write the test plan for each unit. Engineering review is a paid step.
- Quickest when your design is already proven in homes
- Sealing, mechanism and assembly risks raised before steel is cut
- Per-unit test steps and export paperwork prepared
Development on our platform
Start from one of our engineered feeder, litter box, camera, fountain or collar platforms and the shared app and cloud; we develop it around your brief and your market. Scoped and quoted as a development project.
- Housing, colours, app and retail box carry your brand
- Shared cloud so a range behaves as one brand
- Platform-based development or fully custom builds
Joint development: a new product, engineered together
Your team and ours co-design a product that does not exist yet, each side putting engineers on it.
- Feature set and release plan written together
- Exclusivity in the product category open to discussion
- NRE and ownership of designs settled before work begins
Scope of work
From the housing’s shape to the cloud — buy the whole device, or just the layer you need
Some brands want a finished device with their name on it. Others already have an app, or a design, or a platform. Every layer below can be quoted on its own.
Industrial design
Housing forms for feeders, litter boxes, cameras, fountains and collars; colourways, packaging.
Mechanical design
Dispensing, sifting and pump mechanisms, sealing, drop and chew resistance, tooling.
Hardware design
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 4G, motor drive, camera and weight sensing, power and protection.
Embedded firmware
Motion profiles tuned to real food and litter, jam detection, sensing algorithms, OTA.
App & mini program
Owner apps for iOS and Android, WeChat mini programs for China, one app across your range, your branding.
Tracking platform
Device and video backend, fleet console, account and subscription handling, open API.
Typical splits: the whole device · hardware and firmware into your app · our app and platform on your hardware · production only.
How a project runs, step by step
Timing varies with what you are changing. Re-skinning an existing platform and designing a new mechanism around a different litter or food are very different jobs. Dates are committed only after feasibility.
- 01
Brief & feasibility
Product, countries you sell in, retail price, volume and whether it needs a camera or an app. You get a recommended platform, a cost range and the approval route.
- 02
Development quote & agreement
Line-item price per unit, mould cost, NRE and payment schedule. An NDA is in place before specifications change hands.
- 03
Paid sample & approval
A working unit with the app, sent to you (samples are paid) for real use with real food, litter or water. We iterate on your feedback until the reference is signed off.
- 04
Tooling & certification
Moulds and compliance testing move at the same time, with written EVT and DVT reviews before moving on.
- 05
Pilot run (PVT)
A short run on the real line to prove the mechanism, sealing, assembly and the test station before volume.
- 06
Mass production
Every unit function-tested, with cycle, drop and ageing checks, cloud accounts ready, cartons to your export spec and the full shipping paperwork.
Commercial terms, stated plainly
| Development phase | Paid NRE, quoted per project after feasibility; the first step of every project |
|---|---|
| Samples | Paid; lead time confirmed once feasibility is done, more new parts means longer |
| Quantity | First-batch quantity is quoted per project |
| Tooling | Priced for each custom housing, with how it is amortised put in writing |
| Payment | Deposit of 30% on order, balance of 70% before the goods leave; L/C possible on qualified orders |
| Trade terms | EXW, FOB Shenzhen/Yantian, CIF |
| Warranty | Set in each contract, including a spare-unit allowance for your RMA stock |
| IP | NDA signed first; ownership of moulds, firmware and app assets written into the contract |
| Exclusivity | Exclusive models or sales regions can be discussed at volume |
Send us the brief.
Tell us the product idea, where you sell and your expected first-batch quantity. An engineer replies, not a sales catalogue. Every custom product we build stays off our own shelves.