What does “mechanical design” mean?

On our website, we have described Optotec as an engineering office specialised in mechanical design. Now and then, when we have been introducing our services to potential clients, some of them have asked us: “What does mechanical design actually mean?” On more than one occasion, the person has been under the impression that mechanical design only means designing machines and mechanical parts or mechanisms for them. According to the narrowest definition, this probably is the case.

However, the term can also be used in a broader sense, as we do at Optotec, in the meaning of processing any product idea into a manufacturable format. In practice, this starts with creating a concept for the product, i.e. defining the basic principles for the design, such as size, materials, special requirements, ergonomics etc. After this, the product is designed in a 3D format with suitable software, most commonly CAD software. Finally, 2D drawings are created for the manufacturer, including all the necessary details they need to manufacture the product, from measurements and materials to the types and spots of every single screw.