Rapid Prototypes
Our team can help you bring your idea to life by producing proof of concepts or rapid prototypes. Whether you want to demonstrate your idea to secure investment, or develop a product suitable for production we can offer a solution that best meets your requirements.
We are able to offer the complete service of electronics design, firmware development, software development and small scale production of your required solution.
Our approach to prototyping is tailored on a project to project basis, and is typically governed by a combination of the following requirements.
Our Approach To Design
Idea / Research / Feasibility – The initial stage of the process is to discuss your idea and using our market and technical knowledge, help you make the right decisions for your new product. There are many different technologies available and this can sometimes be confusing. With our guidance we will help you understand the options available to you and how they could benefit your project.
Specification / Proposal – Using the information gathered in the previous phase we will develope a detailed description of what you want the product to carry out and how. The specification will identify requirements which are mandatory and requirements which are desirable. This will provide our designers with a clear description of what your prototype must achieve. This stage will ultimately result in a proposal being delivered which details the technical requirements, development costs, development timescales, and overall costs of each technical option.
A prototype development can consist of many different stages. Some of these stages are described below:
Key silicon selection – Choosing silicon for use in projects requiring high volume manufacture requires consideration of many things including, technical suitability, cost, lead times, and component life. During development we will choose components that best meet the project requirements from all aspects.
SOM Module selection - For high tech developments with small to medium volumes, we try and use a modular approach where possible. This typically involves using off the shelf SOMs (system on modules) and developing a host board that implements additional functionality required by the project. This approach results in a relatively quick low risk development. We have experience using many different types of module, that each meet different technical and commercial requirements.
Schematic Capture – We use CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools to define how each individual component in a system is connected. Key silicon is complemented with passive components and other glue logic at this stage.
PCB Layout - We use CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools to layout a PCB in the most cost effective way, while paying attention to signal integrity and keeping EMI (electromagnetic interference) to a minimum.
Prototype Manufacture – Using our in house prototyping facility we will manufacture your prototype design. Being able to manufacture prototypes in house allows us to achieve a quick turnaround of prototypes and keep costs to a minimum.
Firmware / Software Development – We have the in-house expertise to complement custom electronic designs with firmware and software development.
Product Test – Prior to prototype delivery we fully test our prototypes against the specification to ensure conformability. This testing is usually a combination of electrical testing and functional testing.
Product Delivery – depending on the deliverables identified in the specification, we can deliver fully functional prototype(s), full design data, and manufacturing data, allowing a design to be mass produced.