How Design-First Thinking Supercharges Manufacturing Performance with Clarity Design Founder Tom Lupfer

What happens when design, software, and manufacturing live under one roof? I sat down with Clarity Design President & Founder Tom Lupfer to explore how an engineering-first culture turns a factory into a learning system—one that moves faster, reduces errors, and keeps shipping even when supply chains seize. From early PCB roots to a modern EMS shop floor, Tom lays out a playbook where DFM is embedded from day one and inspection data powers continuous improvement.

We dig into the feedback loop that transforms SPI and AOI from checkpoints into engines of process intelligence. With Ko Young’s inspection systems on the line, the team closes the gap between design intent and production reality, sharpening paste control, placement accuracy, and yield. That loop gets even tighter with Python-driven automation, cutting manual entry, speeding NPI, and making the design-to-build handoff nearly automatic. It’s not just about equipment; it’s about choosing strategic partners who back tools with training, demos on real boards, and long-term support.

Resilience takes center stage as Tom describes how his team redesigned most active products during the pandemic to match what was actually purchasable—without missing deliveries. That capability becomes an ongoing value-add through sustaining engineering, cost-out rework, and feature updates across a product’s life. We also unpack why medical devices became a strong niche: documentation rigor, traceability, ISO 13485 discipline, FDA registration for Class II devices, and the advantages of being U.S.-based for regulated customers. Along the way, Tom shares a hiring philosophy that puts engineers directly in front of clients, creating a fast, clear path from requirements to architecture, fixtures, and test.

If you care about modern manufacturing, this conversation delivers practical insight: how to select inspection partners, why software belongs at the core of operations, and what culture it takes to align quality, speed, and cost. Subscribe, share with a colleague who lives in DFM and NPI, and leave a review telling us which idea you’ll try first.

EMS@C-Level is hosted by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Global Electronics Association (https://www.electronics.org)

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.

Transcript

Origins And Engineering DNA

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 0:08

Hello, I'm Philip Stoughton. I am here at Clarity Design in Southern California. I'm joined by Tom, who's the CEO and the founder, and originally a printed circuit board designer, a man after my own heart. The reason I chose to stand in front of these is because I think it's really important that you're a design and engineering-led company. Much as you're an EMS contract manufacturer, that design and engineering in your DNA has made a huge difference to the business. Kind of tell me the founding story and how you got to where you are today. Sure.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 0:39

Well, my father manufactured ceramic capacitors all my life, so I always like to go into work with my father and see things being made. So I think that was in my DNA.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 0:49

Yeah.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 0:50

And I am an engineer by uh training and profession, but we do take an engineering approach to manufacturing and to design, of course, here at Clarity Design. And my feeling is that having it all under one roof, our engineering presence makes our manufacturing stronger because we can help fixturing and we also design for manufacturability. And also having the um, it makes our designers better as well because manufacturing gives them feedback as to the manufacturability of the products they've designed. So it's really uh synergistic and it's a case of I think one of one plus one equals three.

Design-For-Manufacture Feedback Loop

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 1:29

I absolutely agree. And I I listening to the guy speaking about, for example, the Ko-Joung inspection machines you have, the information you're getting out of them is improving your manufacturing process, but it also allows you to give feedback all the way back to the design cycle. That's hugely.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 1:45

Absolutely. Yes, and also with our engineering approach, we can make the transition from design to manufacturing more automatic, like Python scripts and the like, to supplement the tools that create the designs. So there's less manual entry, less chance for uh errors and mistakes, and it speeds up the process.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 2:05

Aaron Powell Yeah, and you're doing software engineering, you're doing software development here. I mean, I've really geeked out here today. It's been a lot of fun. But you guys are really thinking about what you can do in design and engineering to improve manufacturing, and it it's kind of this beautiful um ecosystem you've created here. I don't think I've seen that many other places.

Automating Handoff With Software

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 2:24

It's it's a virtuous circle, and it's what we have to do to be competitive, particularly if we're manufacturing in the United States. So uh it does give us a leg up. It also lets us offer our customers value-added services that uh just a straightforward contract manufacturer can't. Uh, sustaining engineering over the life of the product. Over time, we can redesign the product to get cost out, to add features, and so on. And it's all under one roof. The other thing that came into play was during the supply chain problems after in the middle of the pandemic, we actually had to redesign most of the products that we manufacture around what we could purchase. And we did, and we kept our customers supplied throughout the entire pandemic.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 3:07

Yeah, and you're able to do that on the fly. You're able to do that really fast because you're not looking for somebody else to do it, you're not looking for a partner, you're not sure.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 3:13

Well, and we're the original designers as well. So we are the cognizant engineers and we can make the changes.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 3:19

Yeah. And Tom, you seem to have found a bit of a niche in medical devices. It seems to be something you're really good at. What do you put that down to? Is it because they do require very high quality, very high reliability, but a lot of miniaturization as well. You've got to compact a lot in, but you've got to make it manufacturable.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 3:37

Well, all of the above, for one thing, it does mean that we're helping the world to be a better place. We're making people feel better about themselves and feel better about their health. So uh it's also joyous to us to be to know that what we're doing is helping people. But also, it is all of the above. It is uh it adds complexity, it adds documentation requirements and traceability. Uh and it didn't happen overnight. It really started with one of our customers that was really on a roll. It was a consumer non-prescription product over the over-the-counter product, but we as they grew, we grew. And that got us into the medical domain, and then we've just uh grown from there.

Value-Add And Pandemic Resilience

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 4:19

Yeah, it's it's kind of it's a bit of a snowball effect, isn't it? Once you get known in that field, then people are going to recommend you, and word of mouth is, you know, that's hugely important in this industry. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 4:30

And the FDA applies to U.S. sold products, and we're in the U.S. So it it made sense to add to that as well. And that makes us attractive. Again, in terms of manufacturing in the United States, medical products are a good area to be in because it does help to have local presence. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 4:49

Yeah, and FDA approval isn't it the only approval we have? You have ITAR, you have ISO.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 4:53

Right. We have ISO 9001 for general best practices in design and manufacturing, 13485 for medical device design and manufacturing. FDA, we're registered with the FDA for as a manufacturer of class two devices, and ITAR for any restricted uh military or defense products.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 5:12

Aaron Ross Powell And you're keeping that engineering muscle up with the people you hire. You've got 12 patents up here, you've got more in the pipeline. Yeah. There's a lot going on. You're a long way from your design roots, but you're you're still holding on to the ethos of that design.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 5:27

Aaron Powell Yeah. As the company has grown, I play a different role as not in the trenches on designs necessarily, but also kind of the old man that guides the designs, the architecture of the designs and the like, always keeping in uh in mind the manufacturability, the costs, and so on, and our customers' requirements.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 5:45

Aaron Powell Yeah. And when you start to scale manufacturing in a business like this, you need to have strategic partners that provide your equipment. You've got Yamaha placement machines, you've got the Ko Young guys for inspection. Talk me a bit a little bit through the selection process of the Ko Young and where you were involved there and what it was about the company and the machine that struck you as valuable.

Finding A Niche In Medical Devices

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 6:06

Well, great question because it's a good story. So we were evaluated as a manufacturer by a company, and they came through and they said, you look great, except you don't have SPI and AOI. And I said, Fine. When you see that technology at CMs, whose machines do you see? And they said, the thing the machines we see the most are Koyoung out of South Korea. So I kept that in mind, and I was at a trade show and happened to meet the rep for Ko Young, the Southern California rep for Ko Young. And I noticed on their banner that they had uh Ko Young. So I started asking them about that, and that's PMR in Southern California. And so then they set up uh the support has been terrific. They set up a demo at their facility. We actually brought some of our boards in and ran them through. Gave us a high degree of confidence that, yeah, that's a good choice. So uh it's really worked out well. The installation went very smoothly, the training and the support that we've had ever since. So, and learning more about Ko Young, that they've got really a very large worldwide market share uh made us feel good about the fact that they're going to be around for a long time.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 7:19

Yeah, and they're not just around, they're gonna be around keeping you up to date with new technologies that's coming down the track and all those things. When you look at a strategic partner, and I think those placement areas and the inspections, um, vendors do have to be strategic partners. It's not just about the machine, it's about all the other stuff you mentioned.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 7:37

Right, the whole ecosystem around it as well. And I will say that as we bring in uh prospective customers and they see our shop and we point out the benefits of SPI and ALI, they get it.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 7:48

Yeah.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 7:48

And they really like it.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 7:49

Yeah. And it's one of the it's a beautiful shop. When you look, when you know, when you get here, then I think you see what you want to see, and that's and that's what's really valuable. Um and actually the other thing that I've really enjoyed is when I walk around, I feel like I'm being spoken to by an engineer that's probably been through the same that that a customer's been through in terms of product design, in terms of getting it ready for manufacturing. That's got to be valuable.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 8:15

Yes, I won't hire engineers that I can't put in front of customers. And uh I don't want to have to have somebody in between them. So they have a direct pipeline to our engineers as we're developing their products. And we do take an engineering approach to manufacturing, as I've said before. And uh, for instance, our director of manufacturing is a chemical engineer, but he knows processes. Our process engineer is a computer science major. So they know how to link things together and automate them, as I mentioned before. So yes, you'll you can't throw a rocket Clarity Design without hitting an engineer.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 8:51

Well, Tom, congratulations.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 8:52

We'd prefer that you don't throw any rocks.

Philip Stoten, Journalist and Podcast Host 8:54

Yeah, don't throw any rocks. Tom, you have a beautiful shop, you have a great team, you have a great business here, and I really like the business model. Thanks so much for taking the time. Thanks, Philip.

Tom Lupfer, President & Founder, Clarity Design 9:02

I really appreciate it.