AMETEK SCP has a complement of design engineers that can support the simplest design to the design of a completely integrated system. Design efforts that may be employed to support the installation of cables and harnesses can include: foundations, equipments, and racks; 2D and 3D mockups; special tools, jigs, and fixtures; weight and moment calculations; power requirements and shock envelope considerations.
Systems Approach to Connectivity Design
Responsible for the technical direction of all development work. The systems engineering team generates hardware specifications and provides technical leadership and engineering management for all engineering and development activities and determines and applies system acceptance requirements. Their responsibilities encompass all phases of system development from concept formulation, systems analysis, design and development to equipment integration and test installation and instrumentation. By providing an end to end connectivity solution in parallel to system design, we can optimize the resultant product design in terms of delivery schedule, product cost, and connectivity performance.
Design Engineering Group
Responsible for equipment design, component selection, mechanical design, packaging equipment, interconnection, reliability and maintainability, safety, standards and configuration control. Technical personnel provide conceptual designs, participate in design reviews, analyses and trade-offs. They review and oversee related drafting and documentation preparation; develop, test, and evaluate equipment; support system-level and pre-production testing; and perform failure modes, effects and critical analyses.
The engineering group is structured to meet the specific requirements of the customers project. Engineering tasks provide the basis for engineering development through the detailed design, fabrication and testing phases of the program. Specifically, these tasks address the methods for defining system design including generation of specifications (when required), system tradeoff studies, and supporting technical data. Engineering continues to refine the design by translating requirements into hardware specifications, interface definitions, and other design requirements. Engineering reviews the performance specification, under the design definition phase. This specification is the basis for all detail designs for hardware and subsequent reviews. This approach provides specifications for meaningful design and design review tools and also permits specification development by a joint engineering and hardware design team that maintains continuity with the concept design activity.
Process Engineering Group
The development of new fabrication methods and process controls is key to continuous improvement and long-term cost reduction efforts. Our engineering services does not just cover design, but can also extend to examining particular processes and process controls to reduce defects, enhance reliability, and reduce costs associated with a particular design, without necessarily altering the design specification itself. Also, our process engineering applies not just to internal manufacturing, but also field installation work. We use our process engineering group to create detailed processes and procedures for technicians in the field (both our own, and our customers’).
System Trade-Off Studies
Several specific system level trade-off studies are being conducted during the development phase to minimize areas of risk and optimize design. These studies include but are not limited to, the following:
•Investigation of connector mold angles
•Investigation of requirements for cable
•Investigation of optimal connector layout
•Determination assembly cable lengths
Analysis Tools and Methods
All technical data generated is entered in a centralized data bank maintained by the CM/ILS Manager. Technical data consists of the following type of material:
•Technical memos
•Design memos
•Results of computer simulation and analysis
•Design Review results and action
•Results of trade-off analysis
•Contract data requirements
•Finite Element Analysis
•Formal/Informal Test Reports
Personnel
The engineering group is staffed by personnel having prior experience in mechanical, electrical and fiber optic design for both military programs and commercial related projects. Personnel data forms of the key people who have been assigned leadership responsibilities are available upon request. As the planning stage of this project proceeds, changes and the addition of personnel may become appropriate. In as much as project plans and controls are designed to complement the interrelations and aptitudes of its key people, such personnel changes are minimized.
Reliability
All AMETEK SCP designs are evaluated to ensure that the best reliability design features are incorporated. Such features include selection of high reliability components and materials, built-in sparing, and N + 1 redundancy. Formal and informal design reviews are used to assess the status of the design, performance, and reliability requirements.
Maintainability
All AMETEK SCP' designs are evaluated to ensure the maintainability characteristics of the equipment will meet the requirements of the performance specification.
A detailed maintenance concept/philosophy is first generated, to identify what, how, and which level maintenance will be performed, and the tasks to be supported at each maintenance level. Maintenance requirements and tasks are defined for preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, and calibration required at each maintenance level to achieve, restore, and maintain operational capability of the equipment.
Maintainability design reviews will be conducted both informally and formally throughout the design phase of each project. Informal design reviews are performed frequently and as design information becomes available. By maintaining a liaison with the appropriate design, and system engineers, changes or corrections can be efficiently implemented. Formal design includes the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and the Critical Design Review (CDR), as well as numerous in-house design reviews.
Design-To-Cost
AMETEK SCP has integrated a design-to-cost methodology into its engineering effort. Our DTC program allows production cost to be treated as a parameter equal in importance to performance and schedule. When system trade-off studies are evaluated, DTC considerations are included.
Project Planning, Design and Milestone Review
Project Planning and Milestone Reviews are part of our normal business process. Design reviews are performed in accordance with MIL-STD-1521B, Appendix D, Preliminary Design Review, and Appendix E, Critical Design Review. In addition, special design reviews are held when significant reliability or performance problems are identified. Special design reviews may be called by the customer or by AMETEK SCP.