It is the smallest job we do, so it is the easiest way to see how we work.
Who asks for one
- Teams whose prototype works on the bench and misbehaves on site.
- Companies that bought a design from another vendor and want a second opinion before paying the last milestone.
What we look at
Field failures on industrial and connected boards usually start at the edges of the design, where the board meets cables, mains or a battery. So that is where we start.
On interfaces, we check RS485 and other long cable runs for isolation and ground reference, because a link that works on the bench can die within days when the two ends sit at different ground potentials. On power, we look at how relays, motors and heaters are driven, and whether any microcontroller pin is being asked to source more current than it should, in an enclosure that will run hot. On ESP32 and similar parts we check the strapping pins and the brown-out settings, which cause the resets that are hardest to trace once units are in the field. And we compare the BoM line by line with the schematic, and the board outline with the enclosure, because mismatches there are easy to fix before parts are ordered.
For firmware, we read the watchdog, reset and update paths first, then the code that talks to the outside world.
More on these in our notes: RS485 links in the field, ESP32 strapping pins and brown-out and driving relays.
What you get
- A review document. Each issue has the schematic page or file, what happens if it stays, and the change we suggest. Issues are marked fix before fabrication, fix in the next revision, or note only.
- A call with your engineer to go through it.
What we need from you
The schematic as PDF plus source files (Altium, KiCad, Eagle and OrCAD are all fine), the BoM, the layout or Gerbers, and a short note on where the product will live: supply voltage, cable lengths, temperature. For firmware, read access to the repo and the build steps. We sign your NDA before you send anything.
What it does not cover
We do not run EMC pre-compliance tests as part of a review, and we do not redraw your board. If the review says the board needs a new revision, we can take that on, or your team can do it from our notes. Many teams do the second.
Book a discovery call and tell us what the board does and where it will be used. We share our project history after the call.