Industry:
USA based Tool Manufacturer
Application:
Battery related application for battery driven tool
Opportunity:
Customer’s engineering team was developing a battery management solution for one of is electronic power tools. These tools are utilized in challenging environments which require many considerations in design to ensure that the battery management solution will perform and stand up.
The customer was seeking a flexible circuit solution for the internal interconnects given its low mass characteristics and its tolerance for high shock and vibration applications. Unfortunately, to accomplish this the flexible circuit would end up being shaped like a large “H”. This would result in very poor processing panel density and therefore much higher circuit cost.
FCT’s design engineers each offer above 30 years of expertise in the design of these specialty interconnects. Given that expertise we are often able to come up with designs and ideas to help customers significantly lower costs.
Solution:
Upon review of the customers original approach and solution, FCT decided to separate the circuit into 4 main portions. Two of these portions could be made as rigid PCBs (very low cost), and the other two portions would be rectangular flexible circuits that would panelize very well. FCT then utilized proven connection methods, performed by our highly experienced assembly team to marry the individual sections. This would allow for panelization that would maximize material usage, provide robust connection of the individual sections, and lead to a “drop in” final product that would stand up well even in extreme use cases.
Result:
FCT provided the customer with a solution that took over 40% of the costs out when compared to the initial design. Further, the solution also would offer proven long-term performance given the connection methods that FCT would deploy. The customer’s engineering team was extremely pleased with FCT design support given we have helped them to attain significant savings on multiple designs and is pushing to assure that FCT is in position to support them as a long-term value-added partner.
