Senior mechanical engineering for new hardware products. I take responsibility for the whole mechanical system: architecture, CAD, hand calculations and FEA, prototypes and testing, through to drawings your manufacturer can build from.
Projects run in stages, each with agreed deliverables and a technical review before the next one starts. The main risks are understood before anyone commits to the full project, and you can stop or change direction at any review.
Requirements, sizing from first principles, concept options and the main technical risks.
System architecture, layout and material choices, with sketches and 3D CAD.
Full CAD, hand calculations and FEA: static, dynamic, thermal and fatigue.
Supplier management, prototype build, test plans and interpretation of results.
Drawings to BS 8888 and ISO 128, BOM and assembly guides, supplier and quote evaluation, and first article checks.
Review gate: deliverables agreed before the next stage starts.
Projects where I was lead engineer or design authority.
A working prototype that extracts drinking water from air using advanced absorbent materials, designed for remote sites with no grid connection. I owned the mechanical architecture, material selection, prototype build and validation testing.
Optimised a metal hydride refrigeration system for combined heating and cooling, including a bespoke heat exchanger with high thermal performance.
My own R&D project: a modular thermal energy storage heater for space heating, taken from concept and structural design to prototype validation.
Chassis and steering redesign for a new electric watercraft: lower weight, part count and cost, higher stiffness and strength, and better handling and riding feel. Validated with FEA.
Twin arm sorting robot for recycling facilities. Led a small team of mechanical and electrical engineers through to successful trials, including a 5 DoF articulated arm and the steel gantry frame, validated with static and vibration FEA.
A portable thermal store charged by engine waste heat, supplying hot water for military use, with a newly developed heat exchanger.
Enclosures and system layouts for heat pump and thermal storage products, plus feasibility studies that helped secure £9m of Innovate UK grant funding.
Thermal storage, heat pumps, heat exchangers, sorption and metal hydride systems.
Mechanisms, drive trains, frames and enclosures for robotic and automated systems.
Chassis, structures and steering for electric watercraft and marine products.
Blast protection doors, windows and enclosures designed for production.
Every engagement starts with a clearly defined scope and agreed deliverables. Pricing suits the work: a fixed fee, a day rate or a monthly retainer.
I lead the engineering through all five stages. You get a validated design, test results, a complete manufacturing data pack and support through to the first production parts.
Typically months, stagedRequests for quotation, offer comparison, order placement and expediting, delivery tracking and incoming inspection. Suppliers are approved by you and orders are placed on your account.
Quoted separatelyRFQ packages (drawings, models and specifications) for machine shops and fabricators, supplier and quote evaluation, prototype build and test, and first article inspection. You choose and buy directly from the suppliers; I manage the process.
Per build or retainerSenior oversight of your team's design. You get architecture reviews, approval of key decisions and a live risk register.
Typically a few days per monthA feasibility report with concept options, sizing, risks, a test plan and a budget estimate. Suitable as the technical core of a grant bid.
Typically 1–3 weeksA report on the static, dynamic, thermal or fatigue behaviour of a part or structure, cross checked by hand calculation, with clear design recommendations.
Depends on scopeAn independent review of a concept or prototype. You get findings ranked by risk and a call to walk through them.
Typically 2–3 daysApplicable standards identified early, designed to, and a technical file prepared for the test house or certification body. Certification itself is carried out by accredited bodies.
Quoted separatelyI work with startups, technology companies and manufacturers that need senior mechanical engineering, for a complete product or for one hard technical problem.
Over eight years I have led the mechanical design of thermal storage, heat pump, robotics, marine and blast protection products in the UK, Europe and the UAE, often as design authority. That means owning the system architecture, the technical risk and the key design decisions, and leading the engineers doing the work.
I validate designs with hand calculations, FEA and physical testing, and I stay close to production and suppliers, because a design is only finished when it can be built. You work directly with the engineer who makes the decisions.
Send a short brief or book a free 30 minute call. I sign your NDA and you get a written proposal in no time.