From concept to reality. The case for in-house engineering

The Challenge

Hardware product development is a process of managed loss. Ideas exist at full fidelity in the minds of the people who conceived them. The further those ideas travel through design reviews, supplier briefings and manufacturing handovers, the more of that original intent tends to erode. By the time a product reaches production, the distance between what was imagined and what was built can be significant.

For Dan Salisbury, Director of Product Hardware at Automata, closing that gap was not an abstract concern. Automata build laboratory automation technology. Their hardware development moves quickly, their product requirements evolve with their business, and their manufacturing partner needed to be capable of working from early-stage concepts without losing what made those concepts worth building.

The brief that arrived at Kbiosystems was not a finished specification. It was high-level descriptions and visuals. The engineering work, the translation from intent to manufacturable reality, would need to happen through the partnership itself.

The Kbiosystems Moment

“Starting from visuals and high-level specifications is actually where I think we work best,” says Nate, Design Team Lead at Kbiosystems. “When someone arrives with a finished spec, you are essentially executing someone else’s engineering decisions. When they arrive with intent, you get to do the actual thinking alongside them. That is where the in-house design and engineering structure makes the biggest difference.”

He describes what that structure makes possible in practice. “Because our design team and our engineering and manufacturing teams are all under the same roof, a concept does not have to travel far before someone is testing whether it is buildable, what the tolerances need to be, where the risks are. That conversation happens early, when it is still easy to act on. By the time we are manufacturing, there are no surprises.”

For Automata, the result was a product that launched on time with its design intent intact. That design intent has since been recognised beyond the project itself, with Automata’s LINQ platform receiving a Red Dot Award: Product Design 2025.

But Dan’s account of the relationship goes beyond the initial delivery. “They’ve consistently adapted to our business needs regarding MOQs and delivery schedules,” he says. For a technology company growing at pace, those words describe something genuinely valuable. A manufacturing partner that does not require stable, predictable order volumes to function well. One that can move when the business moves.

“That kind of flexibility is something we think about a lot,” says Nate. “Automata’s hardware development needs to stay agile. If our processes and lead times are rigid, we become a constraint on their speed. That is not a partnership. That is an obstacle.”

Why It Matters

“Kbiosystems were instrumental in making our hardware designs a reality. From initial high-level specifications and visuals, Kbiosystems engineering and manufacturing capabilities ensured we launched on time and with our design intent realised. Not only that, but they’ve consistently adapted to our business needs regarding MOQs and delivery schedules. It’s a partnership that has enabled Automata’s hardware development to remain agile and fast-paced.”

- Dan Salisbury, Director of Product Hardware, Automata

The phrase “enabled Automata’s hardware development to remain agile and fast-paced” is not describing a supplier. It is describing a capability that Automata has because of who they work with. That is a different and more significant thing. Short lead time lab automation, a manufacturing partner who can work from early concepts, adapt to changing commercial requirements and deliver without eroding design intent - these are not features of a product catalogue. They are the result of in-house engineering, applied with genuine flexibility.

For hardware teams navigating the same choices that Dan’s team faced, the question is not just whether a supplier can manufacture to specification. It is whether they can be trusted with the specification before it exists.