A U.S.-based R&D company & patent holder reached out with an automotive accessory design that required further validation & refinement. They provided us with a range of targets including B.O.M. cost, physical dimensions, life cycle counts, operating temperature, mechatronic repeatability, and application force.

The existing design incorporated complex & costly metal components. After calculating all forces in the mechanism, we itterated through several prototypes that simplified the design and subsituted less costly materials. These prototypes where then validated in life cycle testing in controlled environments.

In addition to refining the mechanism, the client also tasked us with identifying a suitable low-cost motive force device. Our team analyzed the requirements and canvassed several Asia-based manufacturers. Samples were ordered, and custom test jigs were designed in-house to load, cycle & temperature validate the samples against the client's specific use case. Devices that failed testing were disassembled & analyzed to establish failure mode & likely cause. After testing, the results were summarized in a report and provided to the client & device manufacturer.