Tag Archives: electronics products

What type of products do we design

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Product types we have designed

A frequent question we get is “What types of products do we specialise in”?

It doesn’t have a simple answer because the range is huge. The reality is that electronics design and the embedded software that runs inside those products intersects with every aspect of modern day life.

Eastern Innovation Business Centre

Eastern Innovation Business Centre

It came up again at a networking event at Eastern Innovation Business Centre in Mulgrave where Susan Su of Suspire Digital gave an excellent presentation on having a clear value proposition that defined your business offering. My summary is that you have to define the customer you want in terms of :

  • Who are they?
  • What problem are you solving for them?
  • What does success look like?
Susan Su of Suspire Digital

Susan Su of Suspire Digital

The networking session afterward is where people ask you what you do and that is where the conversation about what types of products we can develop came up.

Examples of the types of products we have designed

I thought I’d provide a list of electronics products we have been involved in developing.  90% of these products ended up Made in Australia which is the other side of this coin. Designing modern, competitive, electronics products that you can manufacture profitably in Australia. The list is alphabetical.

  • 2.5KW BLDC motor controller from a 12V automotive battery
  • 22KW Rail Inverter
  • 2D shock sensor with event logging and shock profile capture
  • 2D tilt sensor
  • 3 phase medium voltage distribution switches
  • 36KV dual vacuum bottle medium distribution disconnect switch
  • 3D shock sensor with event logging and shock profile capture
  • 3D tilt sensor
  • 3G based remote water metering system
  • 415VAC 3 phase power factor correction
  • 4-20mA thermistor transmitted for power stations
  • 42V boost converter from 12VDC with 99% efficiency
  • 48VDC 3 phase distribution switch
  • 48VDC distribution switch
  • 915MHz mesh networked power monitors
  • Active RFID 2D positioning System
  • Active RFID based forklift proximity alert
  • ADSL Service Detector
  • Air Ram based Saline Syringe Simulator
  • Analogue guitar effects pedals
  • Assisted ladder climbing device
  • Automated bar code reading for a test sample identification
  • Automated blinds, curtains and controllers
  • Automated In System Programmer for Production
  • Automated Switch Tester – high volume production
  • Automated vacuum hand grip
  • Automatic Rain Tank Valve Controller
  • Automatic toilet seat closer
  • Automotive Body Computer
  • Automotive Electric Winch
  • Automotive high side driver (relay replacement)
  • Automotive Immobiliser
  • Automotive real time data capture and forward unit via 3G
  • Automotive Siren
  • Automotive stabilised power supply for digital radios
  • Automotive surveillance camera power supply and video capture
  • Automotive Thermostat Monitor
  • Automotive winch and capstan management system
  • AV routing and control for presentation systems
  • Bagpipe electronic tuner
  • Bagpipe practice cutoff switch
  • Battery Operated Rainwater Tank management system
  • Battery powered children’s toys
  • Battery voltage monitor for touchscreen kiosks
  • Bed wetting training system
  • Bin Cycle Reminder
  • Biological steraliser spray system
  • Blood analyser and multi-parameter tester
  • Bluetooth Based RS232 Extender
  • Bluetooth mesh based lighting controls
  • Bone Conduction Hearing Aid for those with temporary hearing loss
  • Box moving robot loss of suction detection
  • Brushless DC Motor Controller – BLDC
  • Bus refrigeration controller
  • Bus refrigeration UI
  • Cable Cutover Set
  • Cable Fault Locator Bridge
  • Cable Pair Identifier
  • CAN interface for Rail Inverter
  • CAT-M1 solar powered air quality monitor PM10, PM2.5
  • Cell Therapy counterflow centrifuge cell sorter
  • Child safety monitor to prevent being inadvertent left in a vehicle
  • Circuit Tracer
  • Circular economy product dispenser for packaging reuse
  • CO monitoring for truck depots
  • Communications Set for Telephony Service Technicians
  • Concentrated Solar Power Dish Controller
  • Concrete levelling controller
  • Container Terminal Vehicle Management and Container Tracking System
  • Container tracking and handover system for ports and terminals
  • Conveyor Belt Controller
  • Conveyor control system for coin sorting
  • Corrosion Protection Data Logger
  • Countdown Screensaver for the Olympics
  • Covert vandalism detection
  • Crane lift monitoring and reporting
  • Custom Audio Mixer for English Language Training Assessment
  • Custom LED signage
  • Dashboard Mounted Intelligent Alert Module
  • Dashboard Mounted LCD Module with Keypad
  • Data Logger File Format Converter
  • Differential Voltage Buffer for Data Logging
  • Digital bagpipe
  • Digital Compass
  • Digital Pump State Controller
  • Digital Temperature Sensor
  • DNP3 enabled Smart Grid Power Controller
  • Down hole tool for underground boring
  • Drift racing high precision GPS tracking with RTK
  • Drone electronic controls – multiple
  • Early Fault Detection system for power distribution
  • Early Fault Detection system for SWER power distribution
  • Earth Leakage Measurement device for Safety Certification
  • Electrically Held distribution switch
  • Electrically Isolated Air Plunger Actuator
  • Electromagnet Therapy Apparatus
  • Electronic level sensor – gravitic spirit level
  • Emergency battery bank for mobile phone charging
  • Emergency warning radio systems
  • Epidural Procedure Simulator
  • Exit Gate Access Controller
  • Fashion agile jewelry with user select-able appearance
  • FLEXIO Platform Remote IO with Data Logging
  • Fork Lift Proximity Alerter using active RFID
  • Fork Lift Speed Limiter
  • Freezer management system including safety controls
  • Gate Entry Keypad
  • Gate Entry Touchscreen
  • GPS tracking tag with 3G/GPS/BLE/Qi wireless charging on board
  • GPS tracking with 4G, primary cell battery, wirepas, accelerometer
  • Graphical Data Visualisation for Windows
  • Hand detection for a hand dryer
  • Hand Held Vehicle Access Updater
  • Hex pulse water meter AMR with wirepas mesh networking and 4G gateways
  • High data rate vehicle telemetry system with real time reporting
  • High reliability level crossing light management system
  • High Voltage condenser monitoring
  • High Voltage Disconnect Switch Controller
  • Horse tracker for training with GPS
  • Humidity Sealed Touchpad
  • Hydration tracking BLE drink bottle
  • iButton based Vehicle Access Controller with Event Logging
  • In place earth bond tester
  • Indoor lighting controls with presence sensing
  • Industrial iButton Reader
  • Industrial Proximity Card Reader HID iClass
  • Industrial Proximity Card Reader HID Proxcard II
  • Industrial Proximity Card Reader Indala
  • Industrial Proximity Card Reader MiFare
  • Industrial pump controller
  • Industrial Shock and Vibration Sensor
  • Industrial Timer Module
  • Infra Red 2D positioning System – IR
  • Internet of Things devices since 1998
  • IoT monitor for household appliances in field test
  • IR beam grid sports simulator that uses real balls
  • IR glasses for drowsiness detection in truck drivers
  • IR Vehicle Identification System
  • Key management systems
  • Kick Boxing Impact Measurement Device
  • LCD Based Spa Controller
  • LED Downlight
  • Lightning Protection Interface
  • Line powered 3 phase recloser with integrated voltage and current monitoring
  • Load Dump Protected Power Supply
  • Load Dump Protection Module for Vehicle Mounted Telemetry
  • Loading Coil Crosstalk Measurement Tester with 120dB range
  • Locker access control system
  • LoRa based people location services for residential care
  • Magnetic field detector for geological surveying
  • Marine winch manager
  • Modular battery charging and UPS systems
  • Modular scientific test instrument
  • Motorcycle rear lights and indicators
  • Multiple Automotive after market ECUs
  • NB-IoT general telemetry module
  • NB-IoT water management device
  • Non-invasive blood pressure monitoring for children
  • Non-mobile mobile phone
  • Novel musical keyboard
  • Outdoor Infra Red based communications system – IR
  • Oxygen deprivation system for elite athlete training
  • Oxygen sensor for furnaces
  • Parallel Banked High Current Capacity Battery Charger
  • Passive DI
  • Personnel Proximity Alerter using active RFID
  • Pet management product for dogs left indoors during the day
  • Pet Translator novelty toy for cats
  • Phantom powered compact microphone
  • Pipe and Cable Locator
  • PIR Based Vandal Displacer
  • PLC Protocol Converter
  • Plumbers Safety Testers
  • Pool and Spa Pump Controller
  • Pool chlorinator and chemical management
  • Pool water level management
  • Portable Appliance Tester – PAT
  • Portable waste compactor management and monitoring system with GPS and
  • remote reporting
  • Power usage monitoring and reporting
  • Precision liquid level sensing system with SDI-12 telemetry
  • Pressure distribution monitoring for patients recovering from injury
  • Programmable Air Blower
  • Programmable Conveyor Step Controller
  • Programmable Lathe
  • Proportional controller for vehicle mounted hydraulic equipment
  • Protocol Converters For Security Systems
  • Pump Controller Protocol Converter
  • Pump Loss Of Prime Detector
  • Quad pulse water meter AMR
  • Quadlock phone charger
  • Radio based apartment water metering
  • Rain sensor for automated opening roof systems
  • Remote Fuel Level Monitoring
  • Remote Thermostat Monitor
  • Remote Water Metering
  • Replacement tram GPS system (VPIS)
  • Retrofit produce weighing systems for field harvesters
  • RF based nurse call system
  • RFID Vehicle Identification System
  • RGB LED Lighting Controller
  • Robust industrial pump control and monitoring
  • Robust shock and vibration monitors
  • RS232 Based DSO for Windows
  • RS232 Data Capture Wizard
  • RS232 iButton Reader
  • RS232 Port Multiplexer
  • RS232 Protocol Analyser
  • Rugged Vehicle Management System
  • Rural water trough level monitoring
  • Safeturn Bicycle Turn Indicator
  • SAW atomiser technical review
  • Scent management system for buildings
  • Security system for coded entry to buildings and rooms
  • Septic Tank Sludge Level Meter
  • Sigfox temperature monitor
  • Single Phase Power Factor Correction Controller
  • Smart city local environment monitoring
  • Smart city presence and usage monitoring
  • Smoke Alarm Repeater and Exit Indicator
  • Solar battery charger and inverter
  • Solar power sharing in multi-tenancy buildings
  • Solar powered LED bollard light
  • Solar Thermal reflector controller
  • Solar Thermal water temperature profile sensing
  • Sports timing gates that use RF and eliminates the overhead wiring
  • Stage PA and foldback or eDrummers
  • Studio Quality Instrument Interface
  • Studio Quality Microphone Preamplifier with Phantom Power
  • Telemetry Host IoT Web Service
  • Temperature Controller for Reptiles
  • Temperature Probe
  • Thermal Cutout for Spa
  • Thermistor Based Temperature Sensor
  • Three Phase Power Factor Correction Controller
  • Time Domain Reflectometer
  • Touchpad for Pump and Blower Control
  • Tracking solar system producing PV electricity and hot water at the same time
  • Transit Sentinel Shock and Tilt Monitor for goods in transit
  • Trickle Charge Battery Manager
  • Truck automatic safety brake system
  • Truck Grid parking management system and remote gateway
  • Truck parking management system for container terminals
  • Truck Parking Wireless Keypad
  • Tyre Pressure Measurement and Reporting System for Trucks
  • Ultra Low Power Battery Operated Telemetry
  • Ultra low power reminder timer
  • Ultrasonic monitoring of pumps with remote telemetry
  • Underground Cable Sheath Fault Locator
  • Underwater LED Pool Light
  • UPS Battery Bank Controller
  • UPS controller and UI
  • USB Air Solenoid Valve Controller
  • USB Based DSO for Windows
  • USB iButton Reader
  • Vehicle Area Network using Wireless Communications
  • Vehicle mounted air quality monitoring and telemetry
  • Violin pickup and preamplifier
  • VMS signs
  • Voltage Surge Arrestors
  • Waste compactor management and monitoring system with remote reporting
  • Waste disposal volume metering
  • Waste disposal physical parameter monitoring to determine waste type
  • Water Pump Controller
  • Water quality monitor
  • Windows Based Fractal Generator Software
  • Windows Based GPS Tracking Software
  • Wireless Data Logger
  • Wireless iButton Reader
  • Zero Crossing high voltage distribution switch

This is not an exhaustive list and some line entries cover multiple products, multiple clients or both.

Australia Made And Owned logo

Australia Made And Owned

And again, this is a list of products designed in Australia, so they can be Made in Australia. This is also why we are members of the Australia Made Campaign.

A previous version of this list from 16 years ago can be found at Electronics Manufacturers are the people we serve.

Successful Endeavours specialise in Electronics Design, Embedded Software Development and Electronics Manufacturing, focusing on products that are intended to be profitably Made In Australia. Ray Keefe has developed market leading electronics products in Australia for more than 40 years.

You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

This post is Copyright © 2025 Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd

Local Casey Electronics Business Wins National Awards

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We have been pretty busy so far this year preparing several new products for both the Australian and International markets including an advanced DNP3 enabled power controller for the American Smart Grid initiative. So it was a pleasant interruption to this when we received news that our local Council wanted to run a feature on us for their business magazine.

 

City Of Casey

 

The City Of Casey In Business Magazine recently featured Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd following our national recognition with two national awards in the technical areas of Analogue Electronics Design and the use of Electronics Design Software in bringing advanced Electronics products quickly to market.

 

Check out what the City Of Casey have to say about us in this extract from their In Business Magazine, “Casey Electronics Business Wins Innovation Awards“.

 

You can check out the full story on all our awards at Successful Endeavours awards.

 

It was an honour to be recognised by our city council together with other small business owners in the City of Casey, a municipality in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

 

Ray Keefe has been developing high quality and market leading electronics products in Australia for nearly 30 years. For more information go to his LinkedIn profile. This post is Copyright © Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd.

Reducing Electronics Manufacturing Parts Cost

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This one is both easy and straight forward to understand.

 

Do as much as possible in software.

 

But it doesn’t stop there. Do as much as possible in software at every stage of the development. Here is how that pans out:

  • replace hardware with software that does the same function
  • verify operation using unit tests and system tests within a soft environment
  • do production test using on board software so the ATE is very simple
  • do field diagnostics with on board software to make the diagnostics as cheap as possible
  • do service and scheduled maintenance with on board software to minimise time and cost in these areas
  • where suitable, use a bootloader to allow in field upgrade of the software

If you don’t already know, ATE = Automated Test Equipment.

 

The best thing about making software the core part of each of these areas, is that the manufacturing cost of software is effectively the jig and the time to program and test the parts. Automation can be expensive, but if the device contains it’s own automation, then the production process costs plummet. A simplified example:

 

You have a device with 8 inputs and 3 outputs. You want to test all the inputs and outputs to make sure they work. The traditional approach is to have a production ATE which applies known loads to test points and then measures against a series of scheduled tests which are controlled from one of the major production test equipment and systems suppliers. It is not unusual to spend $50K on such a system even for a relatively simple device. If you don’t believe; add up the software toolset costs, the man hours spent designing then building then coding then debugging then commissioning, the opportunity cost of those man hours and the materials costs. It really does all add up.

 

Electronics Manufacture – let’s look at the alternative

 

The test jig merely connects the outputs to the inputs with the appropriate loads in place. The device is programmed with its own ATE code that then goes through the test process including requesting a serial number, and communicates the outcome back to the system which merely records the time, date, serial number, product version and test results. It doesn’t matter if the inputs are analog or digital, the same philosophy can apply. And if there is a big mismatch in the inputs and outputs, then put a simple multiplexer on the jig and let the unit manage it’s own test sequencing.

 

Another bonus: you update the system but the interconnections remain the same however the test sequence would have required altering the ATE software. No need! The on board ATE sequencer does it automatically and you don’t have to alter the production process at all. It even tells you it is the new product and you didn’t have to touch a thing.

 

Of course there are classes of products that do need more than this. Processes like burn in and quality metrics based acceptance testing. But these are the 5% cases. The alternative approach outlined above covers the other 95% and at a cost which can be orders of magnitude lower. And you can always add extra features to the test jig if required and still let them be controlled by the unit under test.

 

Yet another bonus: self calibration! The unit can calibrate itself based on the test results. No need to support multiple different calibration techniques at the ATE. It just says “I read X” and the unit under test looks at this value and what it reads and uses the one calibration process that applies to it.

 

And this features in one of our earlier posts on Strategies To Be More Profitable as it applies to Low Cost Electronics Manufacture in Australia.

 

Now I know this is simplifying it to its core essential elements, but that makes it easy to see the advantages and how much you can leverage them.

 

Less Electronics Hardware = Less Cost

 

The same applies to the other areas mentioned above. Removing hardware and doing the same work in software is pretty obvious. Less parts usually leads to less cost. Above we looked at production line ATE. And the same concept can obviously be applied to field and service diagnostics.

 

Field and service diagnostics

 

So here is another scenario. Imagine you have a customer with a pump that isn’t pumping. What to check first? Easy, the simplest thing to swap out is the pump controller. So you send them a replacement pump controller. They pull the plugs, remove the device, put in a new one, and send the old one back under warranty. You send it to the manufacturer. They test it and there is nothing wrong and send it back to you. But it’s pretty grubby and not suitable for resale as brand new. Well maybe their test process isn’t up to scratch and it really wasn’t working in the field. Anyway, it was still the thing to try first since anything else is a much bigger job to swap out. But now you’ve got all the hassle, a potential dispute with the manufacturer and the pump might still not pump with the new controller. The score is basically NIL all round for this. Everyone loses.

 

Now imagine this: the customer rings you and you ask them to go and press the orange button on the side of the pump controller. It says via its LCD “Check Valve Reversed”. Aha. Not a pump controller problem at all. The customer calls the plumber and gets him to fix the installation. Done. You look good, the customer got timely service and you sure are going to recommend this pump controller to the next customer ahead of the ones that don’t do this.

 

For each product category, the equivalent of the above 2 situation exists. So will your product look this good if the customer has an issue. It can if you think about it, and the cost might be trivial. It might even cost less at manufacture, but it will always cost less in the long run.

 

And of course, if the product can have its software updated in the field, that saves a lot compared to having to return it to the manufacturer. Orders of magnitude this time.

 

So that looks at parts cost, production process costs and support costs.

 

Reducing Development Cost

 

The second of the bullet points is looking at development cost. The up front cost to get a working product. We do a lot of work with small 8 bit and 16 bit microcontrollers and the development environments often don’t give you a lot of facilities to find faults. It’s the combinations that get you. Stop when input A is on, output B is off and the variable C is exactly 122 so I can look at what’s going wrong with my code. Or you might have to pay a lot for an emulator with all those features. And of course you have to put the hardware into the exact state you want as well. How do you do that again? That’s right, either sea of pots and switches or some clever and expensive hardware test equipment.

 

What we do a lot is build the project inside a software clone of the final system. In the software industry this is called a mock. Then we can use our standard PC coding and debugging tools to create scenarios and test against them. You can test your logic in an automated way and you can put every possible input combination in and make sure it responds correctly. Robert Bosch Australia Pty Ltd is one of our clients and we have worked on a number of projects for them. For those who don’t know, the volume of Australian Electronics Manufacture they do at their Clayton Facility in Melbourne is very impressive. They design, make and export millions of automotive electronic control units (ECUs) to Europe, Japan and the USA. And the body electronics supplied by Bosch to the rest of the world is designed and made there. Great stuff guys.

 

So a simple example of how we use this in our projects with them is a battery charging system we did which was all in software. You will find reference to it from one of our Linked In recommenders Dale O’Brien who saw the process in action. Basically, the full suite of tests took a week in real time, the primary test sequence required 54 hours, one test required sub-zero temperatures and none of this was 100% coverage. Using a software mock of the system we were able to do all the testing in 15 seconds including tests specifically to ensure 100% coverage. That’s roughly a million time faster. Debugging at light speed! So we were able to address the logic and algorithm issues quickly and efficiently and have a very high confidence in the system. Final verification in real time with final hardware and a normal test platform confirmed the operation but it was 6 months later. So maybe we were really 25 million times faster.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe in testing on the final hardware. After all, assumptions are one of the greatest dangers we face. But at least prove you did correctly implement your solution within the assumptions you did make first. Then when you learn something new you are only fixing one problem and not arguing about whether it was the assumption or the test that is wrong.

 

I feel a bit like I got on my hobby horse over that lot. But I really do believe this can make a huge difference.

 

OK, time to go and design some more products for low cost electronics manufacture in Australia 🙂

 

Ray Keefe has been developing high quality and market leading electronics products in Australia for nearly 30 years. For more information go to his LinkedIn profile.

Project Priorities Perspective – Performance and Cost versus Time

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This continues our review of the Project Priorities Perspective. See the Project Priorities Perspective post for the concept behind this and Time and Cost versus Performance and Time and Performance versus Cost for a look at those trade offs and how they affect Low Cost Electronics Manufacture in Australia.

 

Here is a visual view of this set of electronics manufacturing trade offs:

projectpriorityperspectivelogocb

Project Priorities Perspective – Performance and Cost versus Time

The previous two perspectives looked at cost and performance and their effect on the other priorities. This one looks at time. Time is a two edged sword. It is easy to spend but hard to save.

 

Here are some of the trade offs that affect time:

  • if you spend more time, you can get the unit cost down or the performance up
  • if you reduce features or performance you can have it quicker
  • if you spend more time you can often select and use less expensive resources
  • to get it quickly, you usually have to buy in either IP or specialised expertise
  • being later to market usually reduces your profit
  • being early to market usually increases your profit
  • doing it right the first time saves time
  • increasing production automation decreases production cycle time

So this is more straight forward than the other perspectives. To get it faster, you have to either reduce features and performance, or buy in specialist IP or expertise. And if you can wait longer, then you have more choices for how you go about it and can either increase the features, improve the performance or reduce the cost.

 

So this wraps up this very cursory look at the Project Priorities Perspective. It is a powerful tool that is easy to apply and can dramatically improve your results. The key, is that it makes you think about the priorities and what outcome you are really after. At the end of the day, if you aren’t clear about your outcome, then you don’t have a basis to plan or succeed.

 

Next I will be looking at some practical project tips for increasing profits and some surprising ways to improve performance. And you have probably already worked out that you can apply it more than just Electronics Manufacture in Australia. You have, haven’t you?

 

Ray Keefe has been developing high quality and market leading electronics products in Australia for nearly 30 years. For more information go to his LinkedIn profile. This post is Copyright © Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd.

Electronics Products in Australia – Why Make Them Here?

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Electronics products in Australia

Contrary to what many of us have been led to believe by the media and a succession of federal governments, Electronics design and making electronics products in Australia is both practical and profitable. But more on that later.

 

First a couple of facts that will help explain why I think about this the way I do.

 

In 1946, 90% of all the Manufactured Products used in Australia were Made in Australia. Not bad!

 

In 2006, 10% of all the Manufactured Products used in Australia were Made in Australia. Not good!

 

This map shows where Australian Manufacturing is located.

Australian Manufacturing Employment

Australian Manufacturing Employment

The graph shows local employment in manufacturing as a percentage of local population. The dark region in central Western Australia is for mine construction.

 

So why is this an issue?

Ignoring balance of trade and such esoteric concepts, it’s about income and a future for ourselves and our children. We ship raw material overseas but import the finished goods back here. Most of the income and profit is happening for someone else, somewhere else. And our tourism and service industries can only do so much to offset this.

 

It also doesn’t help that there are no significant incentives to be a manufacturer here. Malaysia offers a 10 year tax holiday to a new industry setting up there. Intel wanted their next semiconductor facility to be in Australia but the government offered them no incentives. The Irish are sometimes jokingly portrayed as less than astute but they could clearly see the opportunity before them and made Intel an offer they couldn’t refuse. So now Intel are in Ireland when they really wanted to be in Australia.

 

In spite of all this, Australia is actually a fantastic place to design and manufacture electronics products and over the next few weeks I will be revealing just why that is so and how we can all take advantage of our natural competitive edge. You really can Make your Electronics Product in Australia and Increase your Profits at the same time.

 

And recent work by Professor Goran Roos also shows what Modern Economies Need Manufacturing as part of their economic platform if they want to remain internationally competitive.

South Australia Thinker in Residence

Professor Goran Roos

 

Ray Keefe has been developing high quality and market leading electronics products in Australia for nearly 30 years. For more information go to his LinkedIn profile. This post is Copyright © Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd.

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