PCB design services in Finland: from concept to a board ready for production
Schematic, layout and firmware designed in Vaasa by the same team that builds and tests the boards.
In short: Comtec Labs designs printed circuit boards and complete embedded electronics in Vaasa, Finland, from a first concept to a board ready for series production. Work starts with an NDA and a fixed-price concept study of 1–3 weeks. You own the resulting schematics, layout, firmware and documentation, every design is reviewed for manufacturability before layout and before each release, and prototypes are built on our own production lines.
Who this service is for
Outsourcing design makes sense when your strength lies in the application and the market rather than in electronics engineering, and when time to market matters more than building an in-house hardware team. Typical customers are:
- industrial and automation companies that need a controller, measurement or monitoring board designed around their own process know-how
- marine, energy and medical technology companies that need hardware built for a long service life in demanding conditions
- IoT, edge AI and robotics teams that want hardware and firmware developed together instead of in separate projects
Comtec Labs customers include Mente Marine, ETSS and Sensinite. You can work with us in English, Finnish or Swedish.
How a design project runs
- Concept and feasibility. Requirements review, block diagram, key component choices, risk list, development estimate and unit-cost forecast, delivered as a fixed-price concept study.
- Architecture and schematic. Schematic, power budget, interface definitions, firmware architecture and a first BOM with lifecycle status and alternates checked.
- Layout and bring-up. PCB layout after a design review of stackup, components, panelization and test strategy, followed by the first firmware: bootloader and drivers.
- Prototype and verification. Prototypes are assembled on our production lines, brought up and put through functional and environmental tests; findings go into an issue list and a revision.
- Design for manufacturing and test. Panelization, test points, test specification, factory test software and coating specification, worked in parallel with verification.
- Pilot series and certification. A pilot batch on the production lines, EMC pre-compliance in-house, formal EMC, safety and radio tests through accredited laboratories, and the technical documentation.
- Series production. Production against your forecast with traceability, engineering change control and obsolescence management, whether you build with us or elsewhere.
Design capabilities
| Area | What we cover |
|---|---|
| Hardware design | Schematic, power budget, PCB layout with DFM review, BOM with approved alternates |
| Microcontrollers and processors | ARM Cortex-M from STM32, NXP, Nordic and Espressif; embedded Linux on Cortex-A and i.MX |
| Firmware | Bare-metal, FreeRTOS and Zephyr, with a hardware abstraction layer so a later MCU change stays a port |
| Industrial interfaces | CAN, Modbus, EtherCAT and OPC UA |
| Wireless | BLE, Wi-Fi, LTE-M, NB-IoT and LoRa; radio testing with an accredited laboratory or through pre-certified modules |
| Test design | Test specification, factory test software and fixtures designed and built in-house |
| Compliance support | EMC pre-compliance in-house, formal tests managed with accredited laboratories, technical documentation for CE, security plan aligned with the Cyber Resilience Act |
Boards go up to 12 layers, with HDI and controlled impedance built by our partner fabs.
Lead times
Send a short product description and you receive a concept study proposal within a week; from a one-page description we return a stage plan, a development quote and a unit-cost forecast within two weeks. The concept study itself takes 1–3 weeks, and development to a verified prototype typically takes 3–6 months. Pilot series and production follow, depending on how much certification the product needs.
Layout typically takes 2–4 weeks; a design review or DFM check of your own design takes 1–2 working days.
Design tools and lab equipment
Design and production sit under one roof in Vaasa. Prototypes are assembled on the same SMT line that later builds the series, so the first build is also the process qualification. Test fixtures and test software are built in-house alongside the firmware.
Schematics and layouts are drawn in Altium Designer or KiCad.
See the full equipment list, capabilities and lead times
Quality and standards
- Design reviews of stackup, components, panelization and test strategy are held before layout and again before each production release.
- Each milestone ends with a review that you approve before the next one starts, and scope changes go through a written change request with a price.
- EMC pre-compliance runs on the first prototype; formal EMC, safety and radio testing is managed with accredited laboratories.
- Prototype boards are assembled and inspected to IPC-A-610, class 2 as standard and class 3 on request.
Layouts follow IPC-2221, footprints follow IPC-7351, and a DFM review is included.
What you own and receive
The development agreement assigns the schematics, layout, firmware and documentation to you. We keep only our general know-how and existing libraries, which you receive a licence to use in the product. There are no licence fees on the design and no obligation to manufacture with us. At the end of the project you receive:
- CAD files, Gerber or ODB++ data and a BOM with approved alternates
- firmware source code in a repository with build system, tests and documentation
- test specifications, factory test software and fixture drawings
- verification and EMC pre-compliance reports and the technical documentation for CE marking
- production data such as placement programme, stencil design, panel and work instructions, so you are never locked to one factory
Development is priced per milestone in engineering hours with a not-to-exceed figure. One named engineer is your contact throughout, and Kaj Wik is our Chief Designer.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the IP when Comtec Labs designs our PCB?
You do. The development agreement assigns schematics, layout, firmware and documentation to you. Comtec Labs keeps only its general know-how and existing libraries, which you receive a licence to use in the product.
How is PCB design work priced?
A fixed-price concept study sets the estimate. Development is then quoted per milestone in engineering hours with a not-to-exceed figure, and any change of scope is priced in a written change request before work continues.
How long does it take to get from idea to a working prototype?
The concept study takes 1–3 weeks, and development to a verified prototype typically 3–6 months. Pilot series and production follow, depending on the certification scope.
Can we manufacture the design somewhere else?
Yes. You receive the full production data and there is no obligation to manufacture with us. Customers usually stay because the prototypes and the series are built on the same line by the team that designed the board.
Related reading
- How Outsourcing Electronics Design Works: IP, Deliverables, Cost Model and What to Expect
- The Electronics Product Development Process: From Idea to Series Production in 7 Stages
- PCB Design for Manufacturing Checklist: A European Engineer’s Guide
- DFM PCB Services: How Design for Manufacturing Reduces Cost, Delays, and Risk
- PCB Stackup decisions designers often underestimate
Related services
- PCB prototype assembly
- PCB assembly
- PCB functional testing
- Electronic component sourcing
- Industrial AI and predictive maintenance electronics
Start with a concept study
Send a short description of your product: what it must do, where it operates, its interfaces, target unit cost and volumes. We sign an NDA and return a concept study proposal within a week.
