What Freedom CAD Services does

Freedom CAD Services, Inc. is a privately held U.S. engineering services firm headquartered in Bedford, New Hampshire that provides outsourced printed circuit board design and full-cycle electronic product development. Founded in 2003 by industry veterans Lou Primmer and Lauren Mosher, the firm emerged from a lineage of predecessor PCB design bureaus (Mosher Design Services, Alternate Circuit Design Technologies, e2E Corporation) and has since absorbed talent from Rupert Engineering, Jardon Engineering, ACAE and CADParts & Consulting.

The company's core offering is project-based PCB layout across high-speed, HDI, rigid, rigid-flex and flex designs using all major commercial EDA platforms (Cadence Allegro, Siemens/Mentor Xpedition, PADS, Altium Designer, Board Station), with the firm holding a Cadence Early Adopter Program seat and Valor Certified Design Partner status enabling 700+ automated DFM checks per job. Adjacent offerings extend the value chain into signal integrity analysis, library development, electrical and mechanical engineering, FPGA and firmware development, 3D printing, production test development, contractor placement, and turnkey prototype manufacturing through certified manufacturing partners.

Revenue is generated through professional services engagements priced either fixed-fee (well-defined scope) or hourly/not-to-exceed, with a distributed U.S./Canada delivery model and a co-founded Ethiopian subsidiary. Customers include military/aerospace, medical equipment, automotive/EV, telecom, consumer electronics/IoT, storage, semiconductor and industrial manufacturers, serviced under ISO 9001:2015 and ITAR registrations. Sales motion is enterprise field-sales driven with event marketing (e.g., PCB West 2023) and direct RFQ intake via website and phone.

Name

Freedom CAD Services

Legal name

Freedom CAD Services, Inc.

Website

https://freedomcad.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Freedom CAD Services is a privately held, ISO 9001:2015 and ITAR-registered U.S. engineering firm that provides outsourced PCB design, layout and full-cycle electronic product development services to military, aerospace, medical, automotive, telecom and consumer electronics manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

PCB Design and Engineering Services

NAICS

Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing (334412)

SIC

Printed Circuit Boards (3672)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial CAD/CAM for Manufacturing (EDAOAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

PCB Assembly (PCBA/EMS) (HDAHAOAI)

Keywords

• PCB design services
• Electronic engineering services
• Signal integrity analysis
• Design for manufacturability
• Turnkey PCB manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bedford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. PCB Design & Layout Services: Project-based PCB design services using fixed-price or hourly quoting models. Fixed-price for well-defined scope; hourly for projects with concurrent engineering edits or expected changes. Not-to-Exceed and budgetary estimate options available.
2. Engineering Services: Electrical, mechanical, and software/firmware development services provided as standalone or bundled offerings. Full product development lifecycle from concept through production readiness.
3. Turnkey Manufacturing Services: Complete prototype manufacturing management including fabrication, assembly, and component procurement. Strategic alliances with certified manufacturing partners providing 3, 5, and 10 day lead time options.
4. Contractor Placement: Supplying engineering contractors, consultants, and in-house service bureau support for EDA needs. On-site or remote placement options with EDA software provided if needed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Freedom CAD Services provides professional printed circuit board (PCB) design, layout, and engineering services as an outsourced extension of customer engineering teams. The company delivers full-stack electronic product development including PCB layout, signal integrity analysis, DFM validation, electrical/mechanical/firmware engineering, library development, contractor placement, and turnkey prototype PCB manufacturing. Services are executed on industry-leading EDA tools (Cadence Allegro, Siemens Xpedition, PADS, Altium) and supported by Valor NPI DFM analysis.

Product overview

Freedom CAD Services is a comprehensive PCB design and electronic product development services company offering a unified portfolio of integrated services. The core offering centers on PCB Design & Layout Services supplemented by Signal Integrity Analysis, DFM & Valor Services, and Library Development. The company provides full Engineering Services including Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Hardware Design, Software & Firmware Development, Production Test Development, and 3D Printing Services. Manufacturing Services encompass Turnkey PCB Manufacturing, Component Buying, and BOM Analysis. A Contractor Placement service provides on-site and remote engineering resources. All services are supported by industry-standard CAD tools (Cadence Allegro, Altium Designer, Siemens/Mentor Xpedition & PADS) and certified to ISO 9001:2015 with ITAR registration, enabling service delivery across military, aerospace, medical, automotive, telecom, and consumer electronics industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PCB Design & Layout Services Professional printed circuit board design and layout delivered by a senior team of 20+ full-time designers across high-speed, HDI, rigid, rigid-flex, and flex designs, targeted at enterprise customers in military/aerospace, automotive, medical, telecom, and consumer electronics.
• Signal Integrity Analysis Signal integrity simulation and analysis including pre- and post-route simulations, up-front SI risk analysis, frequency-domain and time-domain modeling, and DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4 optimization for high-speed digital designs.
• DFM & Valor Services Design for Manufacturability checking using Valor Enterprise 3000 software, executing 700+ DFM checks per job to minimize fabrication delays and assure manufacturability. Delivered as a Valor Certified Design Partner service.
• Library Development PCB library services combining comprehensive footprint creation with DART translation technology for efficient cross-tool library management.
• Contractor Placement On-site and remote placement of engineering contractors, consultants, and in-house service bureau support for EDA needs including PCB layout, library services, and system administration.
• Electrical Engineering Services Full electrical engineering services including FPGA development, battery management, RF/wireless design, microcontroller/DSP design, and high-speed digital circuitry; covers analog, digital, and mixed-signal design.
• Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering services using SolidWorks, Ansys, FlowTherm, Pro/ENGINEER CREO, Autodesk Inventor, and AutoCAD; includes FEA analysis, thermal simulation, shock/vibration simulation, packaging, and DFM/DFA.
• Software & Firmware Development FPGA and firmware development in VHDL, Verilog, and MATLAB/Simulink across Xilinx, Intel (Altera), Microsemi, Lattice, and Quicklogic platforms.
• Electronic Hardware Design Complex FPGA development, hardware design, and electronic product development services bundled into a single engineering offering.
• Production Test Development Custom test fixture development including electrical design, PCB layout, mechanical design, DFM/DFA, and full documentation for production testing.
• 3D Printing Services In-house 3D printing using a Creality Ender 7 with high-speed printing up to 250 mm/s, industrial-grade precision, and dual cooling fans to support accelerated mechanical checks.
• Turnkey PCB Manufacturing Services Complete prototype manufacturing management including fabrication, assembly, and component procurement, delivered through dedicated project managers and strategic alliances with MIL, AS9100, and ISO-certified manufacturing partners offering 3, 5, and 10-day lead times.
• PCB Component Buying & BOM Analysis BOM audit, component procurement, and kitting services that identify problem parts, recommend alternates, and procure long-lead components during the engineering phase.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700 DFM checks performed on every job
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CadencecoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic alliance with Cadence for PCB design services. Freedom CAD is one of a handful of Early Adopter Program Members with Cadence, gaining access to new software 6 months before formal release.
• Mentor Graphics (Siemens)coreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic alliance for Xpedition, PADS, and Board Station design tools. Mentor maintains ODB++ format.
• PICMGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance with PICMG standards organization for interoperability in embedded computing systems.
• IPCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPC Designers Council member ensuring adherence to industry standards including IPC, ANSI standards.
• Valor (Mentor/Siemens)coreTechnology or IntegrationValor Certified Design Partner. Uses ValorNPI Enterprise 3000 software for DFM checks - performing over 700 checks per job. Valor provides ODB++ format support.
• PCB Manufacturing PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliances throughout PCB manufacturing industry. Partners selected for highest standards and best match for technology & industry requirements. MIL, AS9100, & ISO Certified Partners for turnkey manufacturing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Siemens EDA: EDA software division of Siemens (formerly Mentor Graphics) that markets Xpedition, PADS, Board Station, and Valor — the same toolchains Freedom CAD supports. Comparable as a strategic alliance partner and indirect competitor through paid design services and tool-enabled in-sourcing at large OEMs.
• Cadence Design Systems: Provider of Allegro and related PCB/system design tools, of which Freedom CAD is an Early Adopter Program Member. Cadence itself offers paid design services and a global services network, making it both a tooling partner and a broader competitor for outsourced PCB design engagements.
• Altium: Vendor of Altium Designer, one of the four CAD tools Freedom CAD supports. Altium (now part of Renesas) increasingly bundles Altium 365 cloud collaboration and design services, directly competing for the same outsourced layout and library development work.
• Zuken: PCB and electrical design EDA vendor offering CR-8000 and related tools, plus design services. Comparable to Freedom CAD as a competitor for OEM design-services engagements, particularly in transportation, aerospace, and industrial verticals where Zuken has strong installed bases.
• Synopsys: Largest EDA vendor, historically strong in IC and SoC design but expanding into multi-die, PCB, and system-level co-design. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose growing PCB/system tool footprint threatens the design-bureau layer with automated, AI-assisted layout.
• Mentor Consulting / CIMPA (Altran, now Capgemini Engineering): Large engineering services firm with deep PCB and embedded electronics design practices, much of which historically came from Mentor Consulting and Altran/CIMPA. Comparable as a much larger-scale services competitor for outsourced PCB and electronic product development at multinational OEMs.

Direct peers

• Sunstone Circuits: U.S.-based quick-turn PCB prototype manufacturer that also offers PCB design and DFM support. Direct peer because it sits at the same intersection of design, DFM, and turnkey manufacturing for prototype and low-volume runs that Freedom CAD serves via its manufacturing partner network.
• Sierra Circuits: Silicon Valley-based PCB prototype and small-volume manufacturer with in-house design support and a heavy focus on high-speed, HDI, and aerospace/defense builds. Closely comparable vertical mix and quick-turn positioning to Freedom CAD.
• MacroFab: Cloud-based PCB manufacturing and assembly platform targeting rapid prototyping and low-volume production. Direct peer for the manufacturing-management leg of Freedom CAD's turnkey offering, with overlapping customers in IoT, industrial, and consumer electronics.
• Advanced Assembly: Specialty quick-turn PCB assembly house serving low- to mid-volume customers with turnkey services. Comparable as a downstream node in Freedom CAD's turnkey chain and a competitor for assembly-attached prototype revenue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/freedomcad
• Facebookfacebook.com/freedomcad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/freedom-cad-services-inc.

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freedom CAD Services