Product Design

Conceptual Development to High Level Design

In this critical first stage of close collaboration with our customers, we translate your concept into a workable Technical Specification. A Product Requirements Document and full Statement of Work emerges. This is a crucial gate where we work with you to determine the initial specifications of what your product is going to look like, act like, feel like, cost, and how long it will take to get to market. This is where we identify the potential risks, challenges and opportunities of the project as well. Our engineers may also be able to offer suggestions or ideas in this phase that will take your product to new levels of science and imagination.

The Design Phase

Once we agree on the design objectives (HLA) it’s time to start turning ideas into reality. Led by a Professional Project Manager, our cross functional teams will launch Mechanical Design, Circuit Design, PC Board layout, Software Integration, and System Level Architecture for your product. From this phase the first prototype emerges. During this part of the design process we will execute multiple design reviews, which of course include our customer, and apply DFx principals at every milestone along the way. To Cypher Scientific DFx means Design for Excellence.

The Prototype Phase

We exit the design phase and enter working prototype with functional validation to be executed on the first new design prototype(s). It is here that we build in and/or validate all of the DFx imperatives. That means HALT/HASS testing, regulatory and compliance testing, safety evaluation, and of course the design of a manufacturing system and stabilization of the supply chain. We develop the deliverables so that the product can be properly documented, produced, tested, packaged, and delivered on time, at the proper cost, with the highest possible quality and performance. It is possible that the prototype will iterate in this phase in order to reach production readiness. We will deliver (in part);

Functional Pre-Production Prototype(s)

Production Test Fixtures

Quality Control Specifications and Standards from incoming inspection to final OQC

The completed Drawing Packages in any and all formats required by the customer

All software/firmware codes

Packaging design (if contracted)

A manufacturing process design (if contracted)

All regulatory certifications contracted

Transition to Manufacturing

Cypher Scientific can stay with the product to supervise the transition to manufacturing for any customer that requires it. Our manufacturing professionals will closely supervise the manufacturing sub-contractors until all product yield and target numbers are met. We can also partner with you to provide steady-state manufacturing management so that quality, yield and configuration management are maintained at the highest possible levels.

As a guiding principal to our entire design process, Cypher Scientific is committed to Six Sigma principals. We have a Six Sigma Black Belt trained by the American Society for Quality on staff and all of our team members are required to attend Six Sigma training on a recurring basis. Keep in mind that Six Sigma represents the pursuit of perfection. A Six Sigma process aims to maintain quality levels of 99.9999968% or less than 3.2 defects per million opportunities, and sometimes even that’s not enough!

The heart of the Six Sigma mantra is the DMAIC process, and we keep it front and center at all times. The DMAIC project methodology has five phases:

Minimize All |

Expand All

Define

Define the voice of the customer, the project goals, and critical to quality areas of focus (or a problem if one exists).

Measure

Measure key aspects of the current processes or designs and collect relevant data.

Analyze

Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and ensure that all factors have been considered. Seek out potential root causes of variability of the item under investigation and potential areas of risk that require control limits to be set throughout the development and subsequent manufacturing of the product.

Improve

Improve or optimize the current process and designs based upon data analysis using techniques such as design of experiments (DOE), Poka Yoke (mistake proofing), and standard work to create a new, future state process. Then we set up pilot runs, both real and statistically modeled to establish process capability and repeatability.

Control

Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. We implement control systems such as SPC (Statistical Process Control), production boards, visual workplaces, and any other relevant production aids and pass these on to our customers as part of Cypher Scientific’s standard engagement model. We can even help continuously monitor the process over the life of the product to ensure only the highest possible levels of quality and performance are met.

Cypher Scientific does not just design for Excellence, we Design for Perfection!