A studio built byan engineer whoshipped hardware.
Oaknel was founded in 2014 by Sevak Bagdasaryan after a decade leading programs in aerospace. The studio exists to bring that discipline to clients who don't have the budget to wait for it.
The discipline
Engineering, first. Storytelling, second.
Sevak Bagdasaryan
Founder
| Discipline | Mech. Eng. |
|---|---|
| Degree | M.S., CSUN |
| Background | 10 yrs aerospace |
| Role | Eng. Manager · PM |
Sevak spent ten years inside the aerospace industry — as a mechanical engineer, a project engineer, and ultimately an engineering manager — shipping flight-critical hardware on programs you've heard of.
Oaknel started as a side bench, then a side studio, then a full operating company. The thesis was simple: the rigor that gets a bracket past a Northrop design review is the same rigor that gets a startup's hardware past its first manufacturing run. Most small companies just don't have access to it.
Today Oaknel runs a tight bench of mechanical engineers and a much wider bonded network of LA-area machine shops, sheet-metal houses, and offshore tooling partners. We bring the engineering muscle in-house and source the manufacturing capacity at the right cost for the volume.
We've shipped programs for Northrop Grumman, Medtronic, WET Design, Esterline Mason, Rexnord and Colbrit — and quietly, for a handful of founder-led startups whose names we're under NDA to protect.
If your project sits anywhere between “napkin sketch” and “ramp to ten-thousand units,” we've probably already shipped something like it.
Our Principles
What we believe about hardware.
Four principles, learned the expensive way over twelve years. Every Oaknel project is run against them.
Form, Fit, Function — in that order.
We refuse to start engineering until the three are unambiguously defined. Most cost overruns are decisions deferred from this phase.
Design for the machine, not despite it.
A part that can be made on a 3-axis mill in a single setup beats a part that needs a fixture and an EDM operation — every time.
No hand-off can be cheaper than no hand-off.
The same engineer who shapes the concept is on the call with the machinist. Knowledge transferred through documents is knowledge halved.
The drawing is the contract.
A clean GD&T package eliminates 90% of supplier RFQs and ships fewer bad parts. We treat every drawing as a legal document.
Frequently Asked
Common questions.
- What does Oaknel do?
- Oaknel is a Los Angeles industrial design and product development studio. It covers four disciplines — industrial design, mechanical engineering, rapid prototyping and manufacturing — taking hardware from a concept sketch to a production-ready, fully-toleranced part.
- Where is Oaknel located?
- Oaknel is based in Los Angeles, California, and works with a bonded network of LA-area and offshore manufacturing partners.
- Who founded Oaknel?
- Oaknel was founded in 2014 by Sevak Bagdasaryan, who holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from CSUN and spent ten years in aerospace as an engineering manager before starting the studio.
- What industries and clients has Oaknel worked with?
- Oaknel has shipped hardware for aerospace, medical device, industrial equipment and consumer hardware clients, including Northrop Grumman, Medtronic, WET Design, Esterline Mason, Rexnord and Colbrit.
- What is Oaknel’s design and engineering process?
- Oaknel runs a six-phase process — Ideas, Requirements, Sketches, Prototyping, Engineering and Manufacturing — moving from a Form/Fit/Function spec through CAD, FEA and GD&T to a qualified supplier and first-article inspection.
- How do I start a project with Oaknel?
- Email sevak@oaknel.com or call +1 (818) 281-2721, or use the project-intake form on the Contact page. The first conversation is free.
Next Step
Talk to the engineer.
No account managers, no funnels. The first conversation is with Sevak.