Successes

Prototype Build: “The inside out board”
When we received some bare boards from one of our customers for a new product, we realized that the layout was wrong because the layers were stacked up in the wrong order. This meant that the pin outs of all the components were the mirror image of what they needed to be. The customer was distraught because he figured it could not be built, and would slip his already tight schedule. He asked if there was anything we could do to salvage those boards. We were able to assemble all the parts upside down, and the board plugged and played! The customer was thrilled because he avoided waiting 2 weeks for a new spin of the boards just to see if they worked.

Engineering Assistance: “Thermal Management”
One of our customers mentioned in passing that they needed to get more power out of a power amplifier, but they could not push it any further because it was generating too much heat. We devised a custom heat sink that enabled them to get 60% more power out of the power amplifier without exceeding the heat specifications. This solution was a huge cost and time savings for them, because it solved the problem without a redesign.

Quality: “Standing up to abuse”
One client designs instruments that go out to remote locations. There was one incident where their instrument was on the back of a Jeep when it was going up a steep hillside, fell out of the back and literally bounced down the mountain. The casing was badly damaged, but the instrument still worked. Our customer expects their products to handle abuse, but this incident made them fully appreciate our workmanship. 

Initial Production: “Metric meets English”
We received a new job from one of our customers. Whenever we receive a new design we analyze it for manufacturability. On this particular board layout we discovered that the pads for some of the components had a metric layout, but the parts were English. The difference was enough that the parts could not be automatically assembled. They did not have the time to re-spin the board, so we mounted those devices by hand which gave them working products right away. The boards were low volume & they were so impressed with the workmanship that they decided not to re-layout the board.