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Electronic Hardware Design

Our services cover the full electronic hardware development process from concept to assembly

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Our expertise in electronics hardware and software design allows us to balance production costs, development costs and performance with flexibility. We achieve this by carefully selecting which functionality is implemented in electronics and which is implemented in software. Almost all our embedded software runs on custom designed hardware.

Off The Shelf (OTS) vs. Custom Design

As a company focussed on customer satisfaction and developing long-term relationships, we will always aim to deliver hardware to the right specification, cost and timescale. In fact, we excel in this and will work with you to evaluate whether an OTS option is a viable alternative.

The SanCloud BeagleBone® Enhanced Single Board Computer (SBC) is used as an OTS product for 1000s of embedded and IoT applications. With each application, the BeagleBone® Enhanced is the perfect market-ready development platform. It is a feature-rich SBC, offers readily available open hardware and a proven, widely used ecosystem of device drivers. It also comes with the full support of SanCloud and the wider BeagleBoard® community. All these factors lead to a rapid development cycle for a working proof of concept.

As an inexpensive SBC, customers may choose to buy and take the SanCloud BeagleBone® Enhanced to market in its OTS state with no or little modification. Therefore time-to-market is quick too. However, in the case of larger volume orders, depending upon the required specification, this may not be the most cost-effective approach. Custom hardware in high volume production may deliver significantly lower production costs and an early return on investment against the non-recurring engineering (NRE) costs. In this instance, SanCloud works with its customers to add, modify or remove one or several features or develop a board on a completely new form factor.

How can we help you?

Whether your requirement is for customised embedded solutions, proprietary design or off-the-shelf alternatives, we offer a range of embedded software services to deliver a fully functional system.

Electronic System Design

IoT Device Design

Controller & Sensor Design

Our hardware design process

SanCloud embedded hardware design is based on a tried and a tested design process to ensure world-class hardware systems that meet target costs without comprising design and functionality.

Our designs vary from the Open Source BeagleBone® Enhanced SBC and its many variants, its plug-in capes that provide GNSS, cellular and CANBus connectivity to a diverse array of bespoke hardware for all types of customers and applications.

SanCloud offers a range of hardware design services from modification of customer designs to complete hardware systems design, built and tested to meet customer requirements. Our hardware services can be a complete end to end solution or support in key areas.

We use an 8 stage process to ensure that the requirements are captured and the correct design delivered:

Work closely with customer to define clear requirements for the platform
Generate top level features list for both core functionality and future proof or optional items

Research a broad range of suitable hardware that will meet the defined requirements
Generate high level system diagrams to determine limitations of potential system solution
Review suitable parts for software development impact
Create high-level system costs to ensure design is on target
Determine final system to allow design stage to start

Generate complete schematic design
Detailed review of design both internally and with external customers
Create Bill of Materials ready for assembly and for detail system costs
Validate design with customer, take into account any feature changes, preferred suppliers, etc

Determine PCB vendor and factory assembly site, ensuring the prospective supplier meets quality, cost and delivery (QCD) criteria for the required design
Full experience of modern high and very high speed design using many different technologies including DDR3/4, LPDDR, USB, PCIe, SATA, HDMI, LVDS, Ethernet etc
From single sided low complexity, low cost design through to complex multilayer 4, 6, 8 or higher layer designs.
Design for EMC using best design practices
Full design review with customer, taking into account any mechanical requirements, serviceability, etc

Design for manufacture
Simulation of power distribution
Simulation of critical high speed interfaces in order to ensure layout meets design requirements.
Designs at this stage can be handed over to customer for their assembly

Sourcing of parts ready for assembly from known trusted sources
Work closely with PCB and manufacture partners to ensure the assembly is completed on time to the required quality.

Initial design bring up for both hardware and software
Validate low level functional hardware features to meet design requirements
Complete system level testing
Debugging of any issues

Delivery of completed hardware for certification testing
Support customer testing and validation

Electronic Hardware Design

Off The Shelf (OTS) vs. Custom Design

How can we help you?

Our hardware design process

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