Eletech is based on two fundamental pillars that constitute its
Unique Value Proposition (UVP):
- the first is Innovation and Time to Market. Thanks to accelerators, Eletech is able to significantly reduce product time to market.
- the second pillar is Enhance Product Value. This concept goes beyond simple economic evaluation, including aspects of product efficiency and effectiveness. By working in the early stages of the project (conceptual phases), Eletech is able to incorporate components and technologies with a long-term roadmap. This approach makes it possible to foresee and incorporate possible future extensions or regulations, ensuring a solid and resilient base.
Eletech’s structure in the product life cycle
Eletech adopts a well-defined organizational structure when developing a project, involving three key figures:
- Project Manager: responsible for communication regarding planning, project status and budget management.
- Technical Leader: manages the technical aspects of requirements, implementation and troubleshooting during the design phase.
- Quality Leader: ensures that the development process complies with operating procedures and the internal quality system, managing project documentation and configuration control.
The design team may vary depending on the design phase and the complexity of the product, and is generally composed of these figures:
- System Engineer: collaborates with the customer in drafting system requirements, defines the architecture of the assigned product that meets the system requirements, reviews risk analysis and test strategies.
- HW/SW ME Team Lead: coordinates internal and external resources in specific disciplines
- NPI Engineer: is responsible for guaranteeing the DFM (Design for Manufacturing) and DFA (Design for Assembly) of the design by, for example, verifying through dedicated tools that the designers’ design is manufacturable and assembled according to reference standards.
- Test Engineer: is responsible for defining test processes in production, and develops test equipment to ensure that manufactured products meet quality standards and specifications before being delivered to customers.
- Quality Assurance & Quality Engineer: ensures that the design process meets established quality standards. He also performs conformity tests to ensure that products comply with applicable regulations, standards and technical specifications before they are placed on the market.
- Others: Supply Chain, Tool Engineer, Supplier Development Engineer, Supplier Quality Assurance, etc.
Thanks to an established organizational structure, Eletech applies strict quality control to project management to ensure high design standards.
The integrated design flow with Elemaster
Eletech has a Quality Management System (QMS) certified according to ISO/TS 22163 (IRIS standard) for product development in the railway sector and ISO 13485 for the electro-medical sector that require a rigorous design and test flow to ensure safety, reliability and interoperability.
The development process of an Eletech project follows several well-defined phases:
- Feasibility Phase: definition of product requirements, system architecture, and a preliminary estimate of development and industrialization costs.
- Development: prototyping, pre-compliance testing to verify performance, and freezing of the design that should meet the product requirements. Analysis and definition of assembly and testing strategies for production (DFM/DFA/DFT).
- Verification: conformity testing to prove that the design meets product requirements through evidence obtained from testing. Launch of test equipment, preparation of the assembly line.
- Transfer: the process engineers, test engineer and NPI team support the transfer to production, passing the responsibility from the design team (managed by the design project manager) to the production team (managed by the production project manager).
This cycle is known as project management and risk management, in which designers identify and mitigate risks through testing or design changes.
The process is also analyzed to identify and mitigate risks, through:
- DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis): Design Risk Analysis.
- PFMEA (Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis): Process Risk Analysis.
An early involvement of the production team (and thus an Elemaster team) therefore ensures that the product is manufacturable, assimilable and testable, ensuring continuous collaboration from the beginning of the design process in order to optimize the cost and efficiency of assembly processes.
Vertical integration with Elemaster
Vertical integration is not only about design, but also includes Elemaster’s expertise as an integral part of Eletech’s project life cycle. Elemaster is involved in prototyping (Rev 0 / Rev 1) for two main reasons:
- Leverage on Cost and Time: Elemaster’s proprietary PCB production and rapid PCBA prototyping line ensure control over the time and cost of prototype delivery
- Opportunity for Knowledge: Elemaster has the opportunity to understand, try out and test the design, preparing production-ready solutions.
Vertical integration is fundamental to Eletech’s value proposition, as the design team relies on Elemaster’s expertise. Already in the feasibility phase, component selection and product architecture, Elemaster’s supply chain is used to identify reliable suppliers, optimize component costs and improve delivery times.
As Elemaster is a leading manufacturer of electronic devices, it has a large supplier base and can negotiate favourable prices, offering significant added value to customers. The production line is defined together with Elemaster already at the development stage, with the design team studying the feasibility of production together with Elemaster’s process engineers, creating an integrated process based on in-house expertise.
The accredited in-house laboratory
How are tests performed during the project life cycle?
Having an accredited in-house laboratory guarantees two fundamental aspects:
- Regulatory Compliance: at the end of the design process, the in-house laboratory enables tests to be carried out to prove that the product complies with current regulations. This process ensures that all stages, including the last one, usually entrusted to external accredited bodies such as TÜV, are managed in-house.
- Access to testing for the project and designers: the in-house laboratory provides the design team with access during testing, allowing them to observe the product’s behaviour and make any changes in real time to resolve issues before the final compliance test.
Eletech’s accredited in-house laboratory specializes in three main areas of expertise:
- EMC Electromagnetic Compatibility Testing (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – ILAC accredited): this measures a device’s ability to withstand electromagnetic radiation or that emitted by devices. There are several reference standards and it is absolutely essential that these standards are met by all electronic products on the market. These tests are performed in the Anechoic Chamber for EMC testing.
- Safety Tests: In the safety laboratory, electrostatic absorption and discharge, resistance to earth, dielectric strength and safety distances are measured. These tests ensure that the product poses no danger to the end user.
- Climatic Testing (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – ILAC accredited): these tests evaluate the behaviour of devices under thermal cycling and ageing conditions, ensuring that the product meets the environmental conditions and is reliable over time.
- Vibration Testing (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 – ILAC accredited): Eletech performs vibration tests with very stressful reference standards for devices that can weigh up to 130 kg. The vibration table can accommodate devices up to 60x60x60 cm in size, allowing extensive testing even for mechanically and environmentally harsh environments.
Why work with Elemaster?
- Innovation-oriented resources: Elemaster continuously invests in innovative resources and technologies to offer state-of-the-art solutions.
- Ability to add value to products: Using the experience gained in projects across different sectors, Elemaster is able to increase the value of its customers’ products.
- Complete all-round services: Eletech, as part of the Elemaster group, offers both design and production under one umbrella. This saves the customer the need to coordinate two different suppliers, ensuring that all responsibilities are centralised in one company.
- Accelerating Time to Market: Elemaster offers ready-to-use solutions that accelerate both development time and costs, allowing products to reach the market faster.