Shield Works — Mechanism Engineering and Prototype for Fogo Americano

01 — Background

Background

Fogo Americano makes a premium modular charcoal asado grill, built in the USA and positioned as a centre-piece product for professionals and high-end builders. The product is in late R&D, with a first production run of 10 to 20 units planned and scaling to 50 to 100.

This engagement is not about the grill itself. It covers one subassembly: the mechanism that raises and lowers the cooking grate, made up of a hand wheel, an 8-tooth ratchet, a hub, and a swinging brake lever that acts as a pawl to stop the ratchet turning the wrong way. Krister has supplied dimensioned sketches, photographs, and a video of the current built mechanism.

One design question is open. The grate-rack currently connects to the shaft using shaft collars with welded eyelets and wire. Krister wants to explore a dedicated wire spool that the wire wraps onto as the shaft turns. Resolving this connection cleanly is part of the work.

The main grill box stays US-made. Fogo Americano is open on where the mechanism and other attachments are produced.

02 — Engagement Scope

Engagement Scope

This is a focused mechanism engineering and prototype engagement, not a full product development program. The grill body, insulation, and other attachments are outside this scope.

The work runs in two stages. Stage 1 turns the sketches, photos, and video into production-intent CAD and a manufacturing tech pack, and resolves the grate-rack connection. Stage 2 builds one physical prototype to prove fit and function. A landed-cost estimate for parts produced outside the US is available as a defined workstream.

03 — Stage 1: Engineering and CAD

Stage 1: Engineering and CAD

Fixed-fee stage. Deliverables:

01

Production-intent 3D CAD

Production-intent 3D CAD of the full mechanism assembly, built from the supplied sketches, photos, and video: hand wheel (18" OD), 8-tooth ratchet, hub, shaft, brake, brake bracket, brake lever with ball knob, the locking detail (set-screw plus shaft tab and hub cutout), and the brackets that mount to the 1-1/4" square-tube frame.

02

Grate-rack shaft connection design

Engineering of the wire spool and shaft-side anchor, designed to your target grate travel range and cable anchor point. The grate-rack meets this interface by a shackle or quick-link at the wire end, so your rack design can be finalised independently. We assess the wire-spool route against the current shaft-collar-and-wire method and recommend the stronger solution.

03

Fit and motion check

In-house 3D printed validation of the assembly to check fit and motion before the drawing set is released.

04

Manufacturing drawing set

Manufacturing drawing set for the mechanism parts, dimensioned and toleranced for fabrication and machining.

05

Bill of materials

Bill of materials, with off-the-shelf items identified (including the ball knob and countersunk screws already specified) separated from custom fabricated parts.

06

Design review and file handover

Design review and file handover.

Duration: approximately 3 to 4 working weeks from confirmation and receipt of all inputs.

Investment

USD 5,500

payable in full on confirmation

04 — Stage 2: Prototype

Stage 2: Prototype

One stainless prototype mechanism, machined and assembled at the Shield Works facility and shipped to Minnesota for fit and function testing on Fogo Americano's frame, built to the Stage 1 drawings.

Prototype validation includes a cyclic pull test of the wire spool connection, checking the wire and spool groove against repeated winding and unwinding over the working travel range, and accounting for outdoor exposure to rain, humidity, and UV, since the mechanism runs uncovered.

Fee: confirmed on completion of Stage 1. Prototype cost depends on final part count, material, and finish, which are fixed by the Stage 1 CAD. Quoting it before the CAD exists would be a guess, so it is quoted once the design is locked.

05 — Landed-Cost Estimate

Landed-Cost Estimate (defined workstream)

For any parts Fogo Americano chooses to produce outside the US, we can provide HS classification guidance and a landed-cost model covering factory cost, freight, and US import duty at the applicable steel and aluminium rates, so the delivered cost into the US is clear before any production commitment. Scoped and priced on request, or bundled with Stage 2.

06 — Exclusions

Exclusions

01

– The grill main box and its US manufacture.

02

– The folding front gate, smoker box, ported rear hole, and rack structure, unless separately scoped.

03

– Production tooling and fixtures.

04

– Prototype iteration rounds beyond the first.

05

– Certification and compliance testing.

06

– Prototype shipping and courier costs, billed at cost or client-arranged.

07

– Patent or IP filing fees.

07 — Payment Terms

Payment Terms

Stage	Fee	Payment Trigger
Stage 1, Engineering and CAD	USD 5,500	Payable in full on confirmation
Stage 2, Prototype	Confirmed on Stage 1 completion	Payable in full on Stage 2 confirmation
Landed-Cost Estimate	On request	Agreed at scoping

08 — Safeguards and Clarifications

Safeguards and Clarifications

Scope boundary

This engagement covers the grate lift mechanism only. The other attachments are separate engagements and would be scoped and costed as such.

Lift configuration

The scope and Stage 1 fee are based on a single-sided lift (one cable and spool). The wide photograph suggests the lift may run on both sides of the frame. If the lift is two-sided, the part count and engineering effort increase, and we would agree any fee adjustment with you at the kickoff before work begins.

Input dependency

The grate-rack is still being designed by Fogo Americano and does not block us. It connects by a shackle or quick-link at the wire end. We confirm your target grate travel range and preferred cable anchor point at the kickoff, then design the shaft-side interface to that envelope and your rack meets it independently.

File receipt

The Stage 1 timeline runs from receipt of the sketches, photos, video, and any CAD your designer holds.

Honest engineering

If the wire-spool concept is not the strongest route for the grate connection, we will say so and recommend the better solution with the reasoning.

Tariffs and landed cost

The importer of record pays US duty, not the factory. Where a landed-cost estimate is in scope we will classify parts and model the delivered cost accurately at the correct rates. This is classification and cost modelling only.

Made in USA

Producing attachments outside the US may affect a made-in-USA labelling claim. That is your commercial decision. We can advise on country of origin if useful.

Timelines

The 3 to 4 week Stage 1 estimate assumes inputs are received promptly and reasonable availability for the kickoff and follow-up questions.

09 — Forward Supply Model

Forward Supply Model

If Fogo Americano later chooses to produce mechanism parts or attachments through us, the model is simple. You pay one all-in unit cost per part. Quality control, supplier management, logistics coordination, and golden sample are absorbed into that unit cost, not billed as separate service fees. The items you pay directly for are development work, tooling, sample shipping, and any patent filing fees.

10 — Why C2W and Shield Works

Why C2W and Shield Works

Mark is a mechanical engineer with over 27 years of manufacturing experience and CEO of Shield Works and the C2W Group. Sourya Ghosh, Head of R&D, is an aerospace engineer and leads the engineering on this project.

21 years operating in China, with our own IP-secure ISO-certified facility since 2019 and around 150 staff, many of them engineers.

Broad in-house capability across metals, machining, and precision assembly, exactly the disciplines this mechanism needs, with concept to production under one roof.

Full-time project management coordinating engineering and your team.

End-to-end path from CAD and prototype through to qualified production if you choose to produce with us.

11 — Next Steps

Next Steps

01

Fogo Americano confirms acceptance of this proposal. Mark Jacobs (CEO) and Sourya Ghosh (Head of R&D) are introduced by email and available for any questions.

02

On acceptance, C2W issues the Stage 1 invoice for USD 5,500.

03

On payment, we run a kickoff with the R&D team to confirm the remaining detail, including whether the lift is single or two-sided, the grate travel range, and the cable anchor point, and to lock the design before work begins.

04

Fogo Americano provides all sketches, photos, video, and any CAD.

05

Stage 1 delivered in approximately 3 to 4 weeks, with the prototype quoted on completion.

This proposal is non-binding and intended to give you clarity on cost and structure. If you are happy to proceed, we can start immediately on receipt of payment.

Best regards,

Mark Jacobs

CEO, C2W Group / Shield Works

July 2026