Portable Tester for Automotive Manufacturing
Overview
A leading supplier to the automotive manufacturing industry was planning a next-generation portable device that provides a variety of testing and programming functions on the assembly line. To minimize size and power consumption they chose the Qseven COM (computer on module) architecture and engaged Sealevel’s expertise in custom COM carrier board design to accelerate time to market and reduce risks.
The Sealevel Solution
Sealevel engineers worked with our customer to finalize the specifications for the carrier. Onboard I/O included three CAN and two USB 2.0 ports, multiple wireless interfaces, an mSATA SSD and externally accessible MicroSD socket. In addition to providing the electrical functionality, layout of the carrier was also very important since the electronics needed to fit in a small space within a plastic enclosure that was already defined. There was also a time crunch as volume of the finished product had to coincide with the opening of several new manufacturing plants. Sealevel’s team delivered working prototypes in only 8 weeks from the beginning of the project, meeting the deadline and exceeding the customer’s expectations.
However, Sealevel’s contribution to the success of the project did not end with the carrier board. Early in the vendor selection process, our customer visited Sealevel in Upstate SC and was so impressed with our facilities, equipment, procedures and people that they asked for our help to design and manufacture six additional supporting circuit boards used in their product as well as an external docking station for the portable device. The customer also entrusted the final assembly and testing of the product to Sealevel, and we now ship directly to their end customers worldwide.