UK based
Software, engineering and electronics development house
We do not just prototype. We have taken many fully fledged software systems and hardware projects all the way through to completion and into production use.
- Established 2011
- 90 sq m studio
- 1 acre test ground
- On-site data centre
- Small runs built in-house
What we do
Four disciplines, and most projects need all four. There is more detail on each of them further down.
Electronics
Circuit boards, embedded electronics, wiring looms and control systems.
Software
Firmware, control software, backends and the interfaces people actually use.
Mechanical
Enclosures, frames and mounts, drawn in CAD and made in the workshop.
Production and test
Small runs built here, and tested on the bench and on our 1 acre test ground.
Clients and partners
Organisations we have built for
Some of the clients and partners we have worked with since 2011.
Capabilities
From the first idea to finished units
We do electronics, software, mechanical engineering, production and test ourselves, so we do not have to hand part of a project to a subcontractor and hope.
Electronics and embedded systems
Circuit board design from schematic to tested board, embedded firmware, control systems, wiring looms and power protection. We lay out, assemble and debug boards on our own benches, so a revision takes days rather than weeks.
Software and platforms
Control and operator software, backends and platforms, live streaming portals, ticketing and video libraries, and the monitoring that goes with them. We document the work and use version control, so someone else can pick it up later.
Mechanical and fabrication
Enclosures, frames, mounts and structures drawn in CAD and made here: 3D printing for speed, laser cutting for panels and brackets, welding and machining for parts that carry load. We also do electrical systems, looms and mounting for vehicles.
Manufacture and small runs
We prepare a design for manufacture, reducing part counts, fixing tolerances and sequencing assembly. Then we build and test small runs here, give every unit a serial number, and supply drawings, a bill of materials, firmware releases and test records with it.
Testing
Bench and endurance testing, sample units tested to destruction where that is practical, and outdoor testing on the test ground in real weather. We test every production unit against a written procedure and keep the results.
Infrastructure and networks
We design, build and run the infrastructure our systems depend on, including an on-site data centre and comms room with load-balanced servers, UPS and generator backing, structured cabling and racks, and high-density compute built for continuous load.
How we work
From brief to finished product
Every project runs through the same five stages, whether it ends in one unit or a small production run.
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01
Discover
We work out what the equipment has to do, where it has to do it and what happens if it stops. We write the requirements down and agree them with you before anything is built.
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02
Prototype
We build a working unit quickly, with bench electronics, printed enclosures and running software. It proves the idea and shows up the things nobody had thought about.
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03
Harden
We test the prototype hard and redesign whatever fails. We over-specify components where it matters, then freeze the design for production.
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04
Produce
We build, test and number the units here, and supply the documentation and spares with them.
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05
Support
We keep the documentation current, manage revisions and hold spares, so the equipment can be maintained for as long as you need it.
How we design
Margin where it counts
We choose components with headroom above the worst case rather than the typical one.
Built to be maintained
Housings are designed to be opened, firmware to be updated, and we identify spares and alternative parts at the start.
Written down
Drawings, schematics, firmware, test procedures and build records are all part of what we hand over.
Tested to the limit
Where it is practical we test a sample to destruction, so we know where the real limit is and not just the figure on the datasheet.
One team
The people who design the work also build it, test it and support it.
No unnecessary complexity
We keep designs as simple as the job allows, and spend on the parts that affect reliability.
Workshop and test ground
Design, build and test in one place
A 90 sq m workshop and a 1 acre test ground in the UK. Electronics, software, fabrication, machining, hosting and test are all within a few metres of each other, so a change made in the morning can be a tested part the same day.
Build area
Open assembly space for wiring, fit-out and final build of prototypes and small production runs.
Electronics development
Bench space for board bring-up, rework, firmware development and test, with the instruments to go with it.
Data centre and comms room
On-site servers hosting the platforms and stream portals we build, with remote monitoring.
Network fabrication
Racks, structured cabling and comms infrastructure built and tested here before installation.
3D printing
Enclosures, brackets, jigs and fixtures printed in-house, straight from CAD.
Laser cutting
Panels, gaskets, front plates and brackets cut directly from CAD.
Welding
Steel and aluminium fabrication for frames, mounts, structures and vehicle work.
Lathe and milling
Turned and milled parts made on site, for prototypes now and spares years later.
The test ground gives us weather, rough ground and transport, which a bench cannot reproduce. We run vehicles, field equipment and outdoor installations out there until something fails, then redesign that part before it goes to a customer.
The on-site data centre and comms room run the platforms, stream portals and monitoring we build, on load-balanced servers with UPS and generator backing.
Reliability
Designed for a long service life
We build for military-grade reliability: components with margin, failure modes designed out, and hard testing before anything is delivered.
That means dealing with heat, vibration, moisture, power quality and human error at the design stage rather than after the first unit comes back. Spares, documentation and a note of the alternative parts we would use are supplied as standard.
The aim is equipment that goes on working in difficult conditions for years, with routine maintenance and no surprises.
Work
Delivered work
Some of the projects we have designed, built and delivered, from custom electronics to infrastructure. If one of them is close to what you need, we are happy to talk it through.
Wearable LED display garments
Flexible LED display garments with custom control electronics, made for live catwalk shows and built to survive the movement and heat of a live performance.
Multi-screen mapped installations
Multi-screen mapped display installations on CAD-designed, plasma-cut 5 mm aluminium structures, with custom computer mounts designed and assembled here.
Renewable-powered compute facility
A 50 kW continuous compute facility of 300 graphics cards across 50 rigs, running on renewable power, and at the time one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
Live-stream portals for consumer brands
Branded, cross-browser streaming portals with chat and analytics for global consumer brands, hosted on our own servers with UPS and generator backing and monitored live during each event.
Platforms for publishers and studios
Web platforms, backends and admin interfaces built for heavy traffic and still maintainable years later.
Ticketing and video libraries for live events
Sales, access and video-library platforms for live events, built to cope with the rush when tickets go on sale.
Vehicle builds and restorations
Builds, restorations and modifications for artists and private clients, including full nut-and-bolt restorations and bespoke paint.
Control electronics for deployed equipment
Circuit boards, embedded firmware, wiring looms and control systems for equipment used out in the field, supplied with the documentation needed to maintain it there.
2011Established
The company
Small on purpose
Ravenholm (Engineering) Ltd started in 2011 as a place where a project could be designed, built and tested in the same building. We have stayed small deliberately, so the person who takes your brief is one of the people who do the work.
That keeps decisions quick, and it means the people who built something are still here when you ring up about it two years later.
Contact
Talk to the people who will build it
Tell us what you need, what it has to cope with and when you need it. An engineer reads and answers every enquiry.
- Emailinfo@83.io
- Telephone+44 7725 885 339
- LocationUK studio and test ground. Visits by appointment.
If we are not the right people for the job, we will say so and point you towards someone who is.
The workshop and test ground are in the UK. Visits are by appointment, so tell us what you would like to see and we will arrange a time.
Enquiry form