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Custom Electronics Contract Manufacturer Brings Clients from Circuit Design to Market Readiness

A surface mount technology (SMT) manufacturing line at SVTronics.
Photo courtesy of SVTronics.

PLANO, Tex.—Electronics are so integral to the functioning of medical devices today that it's essential for the makers of these devices to have a close working relationship with a capable and reliable electronics contract manufacturer. SVTronics, a Plano, Texas-based company, distinguishes itself from other electronics contract manufacturing firms by offering customized product design and engineering, along with a full range of turnkey electronics manufacturing services. Able to assist customers in all aspects of their electronics product development lifecycle, from conceptual drawing through production and aftermarket services, SVTronics tailors its services to each customer based on their unique requirements.

“Our product design services provide expert design and engineering services, covering electrical engineering, PCB layout, design verification and validation, compliance testing, and industrial design,” said Chris Dickey, vice president of sales and marketing for SVTronics, in an online survey. “SVTronics' state-of-the-art manufacturing house also provides prototyping, manufacturing services, and works with the design team to ensure manufacturability of the product.”

SVTronics (www.svtronics.com) also serves a number of market segments in addition to medical devices, according to Dickey. “Our design team has expertise in design for a variety of products, including consumer electronics, industrial and mobile computing products, communications interfaces, and embedded controllers, as well as automotive, industrial, aviation, and DoD applications.”

Applications for the company's custom electronics design and manufacturing services include medical products for pain management; business telecom systems and core routers and switches; radio base stations for long term evolution and GSM infrastructure; motion control electronics; and lighting products. They also encompass ruggedized computers; servers and switches for airborne applications; wireless and enterprise telecommunications infrastructure and smartphones; computer peripherals; and semiconductor evaluation modules.

For one customer, SVTronics needed to ruggedize an indoor commercial product that worked in nominal humidity and dust, and a temperature range of 0 to 40OC. The challenge was to make it work in conditions of 100 percent condensing humidity, IP65 compliance, and -20OC to 55OC, without any modifications, so that the customer could deploy the unit outdoors without any special requirements.

Heat energy dissipated by the product had to be dissipated while maintaining the unit within its operating range. The unit had to be impervious to dust / moisture with minimal regular servicing requirements and no replacement (perishable) parts, and total power consumption (including operation of the commercial product) was limited to 500W. Moisture caused by the cooling process within the box had to be drained without affecting the safety or performance of the unit. Product development had to be completed within a year, and cost implications were critical because the product was slated for high-volume production.

A big advantage for the customer, according to Dickey, is SVTronics' ability to provide engineering and manufacturing expertise under one roof. “The project passes from the engineering and development stage to high volume production seamlessly with minimal customer concern,” he said. “The design requires a mix of embedded processor control, mechanical, and electronics engineering—all skills which SVTronics integrates to deliver a low cost, high reliability product.”

SVTronics' electrical engineering and design capabilities includes embedded platforms (OMAP4, OMAP5, ARM, DSP, POWER PC); RF and wireless (WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC); and high speed, high resolution display and camera interfaces. They also include battery and power management and design for manufacturability. In the area of PCB layout, the company offers expertise in high-speed PCB design, high density interconnects (blind and buried vias, micro-vias), and layer optimization.