06 Article Jesse Tolerance Tool H1

We are an open book

The only intellectual property Design Concepts “owns” are the brains of our team while they are working on sticky problems for our clients.

We help create lots of IP and trade secrets over the course of projects. This is core to the value of hiring someone like Design Concepts and we treat this output with extreme care and maintain its confidentiality. But when it comes to our process and our tools, we are an open book. We enjoy holding workshops and sharing ideas at our After Hours events.

To open up even more, we feel like it’s time to start sharing some of the tools we’ve created and adapted with you. Some of these will be very niche, some will be universal. Some won’t be easy to use without training or expertise. Some will.

An open source / open book approach starts conversations, sparks creativity and, maybe most importantly, raises the quality of materials, tools, and results. We are inspired by Wikipedia and Linux’s missions to facilitate user-generated material that is free and accessible to the world. We are inspired by the promise of trust-based organizations and see a bright future as technologies like blockchain allow more confident transfer of data.

Our first “open source” tool is our Tolerance Analysis spreadsheet. Our mechanical engineers use this tool frequently. Making sure parts will fit together all the time, balancing performance and cost, is a critical part of the detailed engineering effort. This “simple” method of tolerance analysis serves the purpose for most design efforts. If you choose to give this spreadsheet a try, let us know what you think and how you might improve it.

Click here to download the spreadsheet.

In the future we will be adding CAD tools and other useful engineering tools that we hope you can benefit from. Keep checking back in our Downloads section as we add these tools.

COVID-19 at home self-test kit teardown
COVID-19 At-Home Tests: A Game Changer, But at What Cost?
Home self-testing kits have played a crucial role in managing the spread of COVID-19 in the US, but a steep environmental price is hidden in the societal benefit.
2022 06 23 Waterfall Comparison Graphic falling web
A New, Comprehensive Medical Device Design Process Flowchart
Having trouble deciphering the FDA waterfall diagram process for medical device design and development? You’re not the only one.
CES Web Transportation
CES 2021: Transportation tech promises a cleaner, safer future
The vehicle expo area of CES has been one of the most exciting parts of the trade show in recent years.
Ricardo gomez angel Pqku Jqzghew unsplash
Transforming Engineering
The list of industries experiencing huge disruption fueled by “technology” is growing by the day.
Michael marais Hj V h EE Cgc M unsplash
13 Biggest Innovations of 2019 To Influence Product Design
Robots unleashed; the emergence of hearables; sustainable plastics and processes — we weigh in the biggest innovations of 2019 to influence product design.
HEADER Flap Jawn 2
Our DIY Split-Flap Display: An Adventure in Inefficient Nostalgia
We weren't setting out to invent something radically different, but we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could make our own split-flap display.