Issue: Volume III, Issue 2

Fall 2011

Company Corner - In this issue 

Jacqueline L. Ram, Ph.D

VP Sales, Marketing and Strategy

As a member of the Esterline Interface Technologies Sales Team, I am pleased about the additions to our repertoire of products, capabilities, and services - optical lamination for touch screens, embedded computing, and our New Product Introduction Process. The foundation of any product development capability resides in enhancing the value we can provide to our customers with in-house expertise and knowledge.  I hope you will take advantage of the knowledge repository resident at Esterline Interface Technologies and ask us to bring our "A" Team (Applications Engineering Team) in for a "lunch and learn" so you can get up to speed with the latest and greatest of technologies, software, and processes to help your product "be the most efficient and innovative".

In this issue check out the feature articles on: 

• The Medigenic Keyboard - color options
• Touchscreen lamination capability to ensure optimal viability and performance
• New product introduction process that allows products to be developed with a maximum of reliability and a minimum of risk

No matter what your product development needs - we have it here at Esterline Interface Technologies. 

New Literature:  Coming soon on our website -new product and technology data sheets

Social Media:  Check out our updated YouTube™ and Facebook™ pages

Trade Shows:  We hope to see you at G2E, MILCOM, Medica, and SPS/IPC/Drives.

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Fusing Custom User Interface Control Technologies

Mitch Butzer - Electrical Engineer

Product development challenges and strategies for success. 

In dealing with the demand for more technologically complex user interfaces and VERY diverse user environments, it requires the development and deployment of more complex product development strategies and processes. Many companies require their product user interfaces (control panels) to reflect both the technology complexity and user diversity demanded by their respective markets. The recurring themes presented to ODM manufacturers are summarized below: 

• Low(er) cost, intuitive, flexible
• Reconfigurable user interfaces
• Graphical UIs with displays and touchscreens
• Unique/dramatic/distinguishing appearance
• Miniature, robust and reliable
• Onshore and/or offshore sourcing
• Sterility, infection resistant
• Industry interface standards
• EMC/ESD/RoHS/Weee/IEC/ITAR requirements
• Engineering and Technology partner
• Manufacturing is comparable to CM's   

In order to satisfy most of these recurring expectations a more structured and 'lean' product platform based product development strategy and corresponding process is required as compared to the 'traditional' strictly linear product development strategy.

Adding value and direction to the VERY diverse requirements of this new level of technologically complex user interface is a challenge that is addressed by not only via a 'lean' product platform development strategy but also by being able to combine traditional control technologies with new control input technologies to form a new 'hybrid' control that is multi-functional. A few examples of this type of 'hybrid' control is as follows:

• Full/medium/low travel switches with capacitive proximity sensing
• Re-legend-able mechanical switches with OLED displays
• Touchscreen displays with multiple haptic technologies (shear, Z displacement, and rumble)
• Force sensing pointing devices with capacitive proximity sensors 

 To view entire article, click here

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Capability Focus - Touchscreen Lamination 

David Hildner - National Sales Manager 

Optial lamination offers multiple benefits over the traditional parameter / Anti-Newton dot approach to laminating transparent layers of material together.

There are two basic approaches to optical lamination: Wet process and Dry process. 

Dry Process - The dry process is used when the materials being laminated are flat and at least one of the surfaces is flexible. Typically flexible thinfilm layers of materials such as polyester or polycarbonate and optically clear adhesive are being laminated to a ridged glass, polycarbonate or acrylic.

Wet Process - The wet process is used when the materials being laminated are concave, convex or both materials are ridged such as glass to glass. Typically ridged material such as the glass surface of a touch screen is being laminated to a display surface.

The benefits that these approaches offer over traditional lamination techniques include

1. Each layer of material that is placed over a display reduces both its viewing angle and brightness, and can often aggravate a glare from both external elements such as the sun or interior lighting and from the backlighting source from the display itself.
2. Perimeter adhesion solutions require anti-Newton dots to keep the surfaces being placed over each other separate. If they touch they create a Newton effect which is basically a reflection of light between the two surfaces that often appears as an oval prism effect distorting the display image below.
3. Air gaps that are present in parameter bonding have a greater negative effect on display brightness then optically bonded layers.

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Technology Focus:  Embedded Computer

Brian Snow - Vice President Engineering
 

Why buy more than you need?  Esterline Interface Technologies integrates our embedded computer solution to your custom device.  Get the features, connectivity, and form factor required for your application.  the embedded computer performance and requirements are driven by your specific system functionallity. 

To download the entire data sheet, click here                      

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Innovative Solutions:  Process Improvement - NPI

One-Stop-Shop

At Interface Technologies we evaluate the project scope, schedule, product specifications, and cost targets prior to quotation. Our cross-functional team used to assess the project includes manufacturing, materials, design engineers, manufacturing engineers, program managers and senior management. The assessment is documented and summarized with a list of near-term activities that must be proactively worked from the beginning of the project. These activities are provided to you with our quotation.

Our NPI process focuses on SPEED. You will have a sample product sooner without significant investment or risk since engineering builds do not require investment in production tooling, released documentation, manufacturing documentation or volume material purchases.

Contact us for your next development project and take advantage of our thirty+ years of development, manufacturing and test expertise!

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News Flash

LRE Medical GmbH proudly celebrates its 50 year anniversary

Brad Lawrence, CEO of Esterline Technologies selected as the top Manufacturing Executive of the year for a large business:  Seattle Business Review

Esterline announces 3rd quarter income from continuing operations.

CEO Brad Lawrence leads Esterline Corporation to record sales.  Read Soaring to new heights 

Esterline Interface Technology President Dennis Staver, discusses how Advanced Input Answers Demand in an interview with the Spokane Journal of Business.

Coming soon... Esterline Interface Technologies standard products webstore

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Want Color? Medigenic®

Would you like the award winning Medigenic Keyboard in your corporate or other preferred color?  Call 800-444-5923 X1383 or email us today to discuss your options. 

 How about...

• Pink for the cancer treatment facilities
• "Clean white" for other hospital areas
• Camo green for military hospitals and facilities
• Black to replace traditional desk keyboards in an office environment

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