A Success Story 20 Years in the Making

It began as a concept for a new scientific instrument. The product did not exist, in fact, neither did the industry! Yet, over the past 20 years Compucon has been the electronics design team for this fast growing publicly held firm. It has been a role that has produced milestones in a number of areas.

• Developed electronics and control software for more than 35 products.
• Developed product migration paths to enable just 20 products to do the work of over 30 previous designs.
• Developed software capabilities that created a sustainable competitive advantage in key markets.
• Over 80% of all products have been in production for more than 10 years.
• Reduced the customer's cost of ownership by redesigning products to offer additional capabilities, easier maintenance, and to take advantage of newer technologies.
• Migrated software platforms to enable multiple devices to use the same control software and integrate seamlessly with corporate IS systems.
• Even though designs have changed over time, we have maintained hardware compatibility with past models.
• Maintained software compatibility throughout all generations of product design. Products introduced in 1989 are still compatible with the latest generation of controls made today.

A Data Gathering System for an Environmental Nightmare

Every so often we are asked to create an electronic device that can withstand "unconventional" conditions. When the specifications for this product were finished, the list of "unconventional" requirements was a bit intimidating.

"Design an electronic data gathering system that will need to operate 24/7 for five years, survive frequent exposure to harsh liquids, cleaners, acidic compounds, shock, all weather conditions including exposure to extreme hot and cold temperatures…. and maintain a failure rate of less than 1%."

That was over 15 years ago. Today, this not-so-small business owns a profitable segment in a worldwide market. What started as a single product concept has since grown to a robust data gathering, analysis and decision making network incorporating a wireless identification system.

Can We Get Remote Service Without The Service Guy?

Of all of the issues we design for, few are as important as ensuring adequate aftermarket support. The challenge this client had was building an electronic control that could be monitored and serviced by non-technical people in remote locations, make that very remote, (knowledge of computers was not an option). Compounding the problem was the need to engineer the control to accept future upgrades - without the tech of course.

Creating a product that does all of this meant reaching for solutions that were sophisticated, yet simple. Each control was outfitted with a unique access port and custom diagnostic software that reports the unit's condition on that newest of mini-computers, a hand-held computer. System upgrades are managed by downloading programming instructions to the unit's firmware, by telephone if needed. The result, several thousand units, spanning multiple product offerings have been successfully maintained and upgraded in remote locations across the North American landscape.

Keeping a hot new product on the leading edge for two decades

It is not uncommon for a client to have a hot idea for a product, but when this client asked us to design a new control product… and keep redesigning it… we knew it would be a challenge.

The result is another strategic partnership that continues strong after 20 years of service. By trusting Compucon to design and develop the entire control system from the ground up they achieved a patented product with features that secured a key market position. Over the years, new features have been added on the fly while maintaining compatibility with all previous designs. We have even made rolling design changes necessitated by obsolete parts and federal FCC rule changes - all without interrupting normal delivery schedules.

Call Us Today

Whether your next product is simple or complex, Compucon's experience from projects like these means you can trust us deliver the performance you need.

Call us or email us now to discuss your next project,
763-535-4176.