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Performance on the inside, seeping through to the outside
When you've got products that are some of the highest performance units on the market, it's only right that the product aesthetics are a major reflection of the inside. Novatel could have left their high-end technology in a simple enclosure, but they chose to include industrial design in their development process to ensure that the tactical grade performance specifications had an enclosure home to communicate this precision and value.
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"Like dressing Rambo up to look like a Ph.D grad! The IMU contains very sophisticated technology that must operate in very challenging environments."
Sebastien Bonneau – Product Designer
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Prototyping to production with one Design
Novatel needed to test the design in beta installs. Sales would ramp gradually, and eventually production tooling would be required. The challenge was how to accomplish this and maintain consistency. Advanta proposed a design that would work for machined units, lower volume casting production, and, with some internal changes, as a die cast unit. Taking the time to understand the overall requirements of the project allowed us to provide a design with this degree of flexibility.
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Production Smart
Novatel offers IMU units with guidance systems from multiple third-party suppliers. The original plan was to have more than one enclosure to accommodate the differences between the varying units. Advanta worked with the engineers at Novatel to adjust some bracketing and cables so that one enclosure could serve as housing for all of the third-party units. This saved time, development effort, and capital costs, and it provides ongoing reductions in the number of parts Novatel needs to stock. A good-looking product that saves money. That is the kind of return on development effort that we like to provide to all of our clients.
Pragmatic & Exciting
At Advanta, we are pragmatic and grounded. We won't design for its own sake, sketching until the end of time. Development cycles need to be efficient and move along; however, that doesn't mean a design can't be exciting too. We check our egos at the door and create designs for our clients that highlight and enhance their technologies, not just fill our portfolio with pretty images.
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"We suggested an internal cable and bracket modification so that IMUs from various vendors could fit into one housing design. That saved up-front capital and continues to minimize inventory."
Kent Davidson – Founder
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Keeping the User in Mind
Each IMU needs to be mounted in a precise way, with the inertial center placed at a known spot. Since the enclosure houses more than one brand of IMU, the inertial centers are different for each one. We worked with Novatel to develop a set of markings on the enclosure so users could easily position the enclosure for each of the particular IMUs the unit may hold.
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"If you think you can't get samples in time, put us to the test."
Jean-Sebastien Langlois – Design Lead
Getting things right; executing fast
Larger clients often have excellent systems for qualifying vendors and managing quality. Going through normal procurement channels for fast prototyping can be an impediment to the speed of the program. As in this case, Advanta will often handle all prototyping, sourcing the vendors and providing completed, painted, and assembled enclosures for the client to put their electronics in.
Over the years we have developed close working relationships with valued vendors. Whether for prototyping or production solutions, these long-standing relationships are an important part of our ability to deliver quality to our clients very quickly.
"The goal is a design that is a voice for the product. In this case, rugged, accurate, and smart."
Sebastien Bonneau - Product Designer
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