What's useful
- CAD assemblies and parts: native files from SolidWorks, Creo, NX, Fusion or similar, with drawings.
- Electronics designs: schematics, PCB layouts and libraries from Altium, KiCad or similar.
- Bills of materials and the engineering change orders that revised them.
- Test results: validation, environmental, compliance and failure-analysis reports.
- Design reviews: the comments and decisions that shaped each revision.
The most useful sets cover a product from first concept to released design, with the revisions and test evidence in between.
What qualifies
The hardware listing is for companies of roughly 20 to 2,000 employees that have designed and shipped real products, and whose design files are still held in a PDM system or well-organised file store.
What to check first
- Who owns the design. Products you designed for yourself are usually yours. If you work as a design consultancy or contract engineering firm, the client may own the designs under your contract.
- Third-party content. Component libraries, purchased models and licensed IP blocks come with their own terms, which may not allow redistribution.
- Export controls. Some electronics, encryption, sensing and aerospace technology is controlled under UK export rules, and those rules cover design data as well as hardware. Check before including anything that might be controlled.
- Patents. Unpublished inventions should stay out until any patent applications are filed.
What it's worth
Mercor lists potential company earnings of $45kâ$1.3M for hardware engineering companies, depending on what's in scope. That is Mercor's own figure, not a promise or guarantee from us. Complete, well-documented product histories sit at the higher end.
Do we need to tidy up our CAD files first?
No. Real working files, revisions included, are what buyers want. Removing personal data and anything confidential is the important preparation.
What about products we've discontinued?
They're often ideal: finished, documented, and no longer commercially sensitive.