Industrial appearance design delivers seven things: research and competitor conclusions, hand sketches, 2D orthographic views, the 3D surface model, renders, the CMF and process document, and the tooling follow-up checklist. Pricing is quoted in package tiers: appearance only at RMB 5,000-12,000, appearance plus structure at RMB 15,000-40,000, and a full package at RMB 30,000-80,000. Of the seven, the two most often dropped are the CMF document and the DFM manufacturability check — and the cost of dropping them usually comes back during trial moulding.
The short version: seven deliverables, quoted as three tiers. Appearance-only runs 15-25 working days; with structure, 30-45 working days; the full package including prototype verification, 6-10 weeks. If a quotation only says "one set of appearance design", it most likely stops at renders — the 3D model, CMF file and tooling follow-up get quoted separately.
What exactly are the seven deliverables?
In time order: research, sketches, orthographic views, 3D model, renders, CMF, tooling follow-up.
The first four are what most clients expect. The 3D surface model is where craft shows up: the same fillet transition, built with G1 versus G2 continuity, looks identical in a render — but one comes out of the mould with a broken highlight band and the other with a continuous one. On housing parts we check surface continuity directly with the tool shop before the design review, so the model does not get sent back for a re-surface when the steel is already being cut.
The last three are the dividing line. A CMF document is not "white matte". It has to specify the colour reference (a Pantone number, for example), the surface treatment (texture number or spark-erosion grade), the base material and any secondary process (painting, plating, IMD). Without that, the sample shop interprets it their own way, the first prototype and the production parts do not match in colour, and re-running a prototype costs several thousand yuan plus schedule. DFM is a pass over wall thickness, draft, snap fits and gate positions using the 3D model: we typically allow 1-2 degrees of draft and open up to 2-3 degrees on sandblasted surfaces, and those numbers are written into the annotations of the delivered file.
Why does appearance design cost anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands?
The difference comes from three things: whether structural design is included, whether prototype verification is included, and how many rounds of direction proposals are needed. Redesigning the appearance of a fixed concept and defining a product from zero differ by more than a factor of three in workload.
| Item | Appearance only | Appearance + structure | Full package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range (RMB) | 5,000-12,000 | 15,000-40,000 | 30,000-80,000 |
| 3D surface model | Included | Included | Included |
| Internal structure drawings | Not included | Included | Included |
| CMF process document | Negotiated separately | Included | Included |
| Prototype verification | Not included | Extra cost | Included |
| Typical situation | Concept fixed, only appearance needed | From zero to tooling-ready | Including production documentation |
Most of our 200+ corporate clients are small and mid-sized businesses, and a good share of them choose the appearance-only tier. Their typical situation is that the concept, structure and supply chain are handled internally and only the appearance is outsourced. In that case we write the delivery boundary into the contract — structural interference and assembly dimensions excluded — so there is no argument later.
How many days from signing to tooling-ready?
Appearance alone takes 15-25 working days; with structure, 30-45 working days; the full package from design to production documentation usually 6-10 weeks. The rework concentrates in the first direction confirmation, not in modelling.
The first round gives 2-3 directions in 10-15 working days, and modelling and CMF only make sense after a direction is fixed. Where does the time actually go? Client-side decisions. Appearance is a subjectively judged piece of work; when the owner, marketing and sales disagree, reaching a fifth revision is common. Our approach is to give 2-3 directions at once and write the trade-off of each on the proposal page: this one is the safe route for mass production, that one has a nicer surface but the tooling costs one step more. The client takes that into the internal discussion, which is much faster than arguing over a pile of renders.
How do you judge whether delivered files are good enough?
Three checks: can it go straight to tooling; has CMF been reduced to process parameters; has assembly interference been checked. Pass all three and the model is ready to cut steel.
Parting is where weak work shows. If parting line position, gate clearance and ejector pin positions were never considered in the 3D, the tool shop's first move is a phone call asking for the surfaces to be changed. In the models we deliver, the parting line is drawn in the mould direction and snap fits are relieved at their actual undercut angles. Some products look extremely minimal outside but carry three process grooves on the back — invisible from the front, and they save two sets of inserts in the tool.
The second is CMF granularity. A qualified line reads "ABS, white, texture MT-11010, matte"; an unqualified one reads "white, frosted". The difference is whether the sample shop gets it right on the first attempt. The third is interference checking, especially on multi-part products: is there a gap where the upper and lower housings meet, is the button travel sufficient, does the battery door snap feel right. All of this can be checked by hand in 3D. Find it at T0 and the tool change is in the tens of thousands, with two more weeks on the schedule.
FAQ
What files are included in appearance design? Seven: research conclusions, sketches, orthographic views, 3D surface model, renders, CMF process document, and the tooling follow-up checklist. Ask before signing which one the quotation stops at — "one set of appearance design" usually means renders only.
Can I do appearance without structure? Yes, provided you have your own structural engineer and they join at the modelling stage. Handing the finished appearance to structure afterwards has a high probability of surfaces being redone: wall thickness, snap fits and draft have to be built in while the surfaces are being drawn.
How low can the fee go? Our floor is RMB 5,000, for a fixed concept where only the appearance changes. Below that usually means the CMF document or DFM check is missing, and that money gets spent again during sampling and trial moulding — plus about two extra weeks.
Written by the Hezi Industrial Design team in Dongguan. Appearance design, structural design and CMF as one service; 320+ products in mass production.
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