Rapid Prototyping Development for a Specialty Emergency/Warning Lighting Company
OUR CUSTOMER’S ISSUE
A manufacturer of specialty emergency/warning lighting was experiencing major failures of the existing power cable assemblies used on its lights. The customer’s existing supplier was unable to rectify the problem and the customer needed to make a change immediately.
SAFCO’S ROLE
Safco engineers worked closely with the customer to quickly identify the root issues of the failures.
- The operating requirements of the specialty lighting called for very high currents.
- The operating environment was rather harsh with the end customer mishandling the assembly.
- An evaluation of the existing assembly construction identified several design inadequacies – poor materials, lack of heat dissipation capabilities and poor mechanical design and fit - leading to overheating and failure.
- The customer was justifiably nervous about just another cable assembly. Safco very quickly created and submitted prototype for the customer’s full review, testing and evaluation.
- Safco provided test data and a written performance guarantee supporting the suitability of the prototypes for the customer’s demanding application.
PROJECT DETAILS
- Safco’s extensive knowledge of low voltage power supplies; its ability to quickly diagnose a problem and provide prototypes very quickly assisted this company in responding to a potential market disaster.
- Safco was able to quickly identify the root issues of the failure as a result of its in-house test facilities.
- Putting prototypes and test data in the hands of the customer so quickly for their testing and evaluation provided them the confidence to move forward.
- Safco’s written guarantee provided further comfort that Safco stood behind the design and functionality of the low voltage power assembly and would take responsibility for any failures in the field.
- This frantic start to a new customer relationship has since evolved into full service partnership involving inventory management services, joint product enhancement projects as well as international production to reduce costs.
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