Why keep them together
Outsourcing form, structure and hardware separately is common, and it is where most rework comes from. The form is approved, then wall thickness turns out to be insufficient. The structure is drawn, then the board does not fit. The prototype arrives and the connector faces the wrong way. Each time someone rebuilds, usually whoever finished first.
With all three in one team the constraints become visible during design: draft is reviewed alongside styling, the board outline exists before structural drawings, and package size is checked at component selection.
How we run it
The first week or two frames requirements, cost range and production process. No drawings are produced — the goal is agreement on how decisions will be judged. Every trade-off afterwards refers back to it.
After that, each stage ends in something reviewable: a sketch, a model, structural data, a working prototype. Not a percentage.
Handover to manufacturing
Once design is frozen, work moves directly into CNC prototypes, rapid tooling or a pilot batch, with the same team following through. Problems seeded in design are found and fixed by the same people, without two suppliers negotiating whose fault it is.
About deliverables
Deliverables are listed at kick-off with format, version and acceptance criteria. We do not close a stage on a phrase like "design complete".