This National Apprenticeship week, we talk to Jake about his experience as a Production Apprentice, what he is studying and why an apprenticeship is a great way to start your career.
This National Apprenticeship week, we talk to Jake about his experience as a Production Apprentice, what he is studying and why an apprenticeship is a great way to start your career.
With the market struggling to settle, we explore what measures can be put in place to mitigate the effects of a changing landscape.
The global supply chain has become increasingly unstable causing component shortages across the industry. So, what does this mean for electronic components and when will we see an end to shortages?
This week, we had the pleasure of Ava Trewen's company as she joined the team for her Year 10 work experience placement. Find out what Ava got up to at Cubik HQ.
We are excited to announce that we are working on EarSwitch, a new medical technology that hopes to transform the lives of people living with neurological conditions, such as motor neuron disease.
We explore some of the reasons why an electronics design project might run into difficulty and what can be done to get things back on track.
Cubik Innovation invests £65,000 in a Fritsch PA520 modular pick and place machine that will increase Cubik's PCB output by up to 50%.
At the start of a project it's important to understand what you want to achieve and identify risks. Specifications can help you organise and prioritise your ideas and avoid costly mistakes.
The UK Government have amended some of the aspects regarding the change from CE to UKCA marking. We've updated this article to reflect these changes.
Target Darts is a leader in darts equipment and sponsors some of the biggest names in the game including Luke Littler and Rob Cross. Their latest product creates a new category of connected IoT devices bringing the skill and excitement of the game to homes at the touch of a button.
The Virt Camera is a two-way camera system that allows users to play competitive darts against a global online community. It's front facing camera lets you opponent watch your throw, while the dartboard facing camera allows them to see your dart land in real time, high-definition video.
Target Darts approached Cubik with a prototype of their new product and asked us to conduct a design review that focussed on design for manufacture and supply. The Virt needed to stream two live video feeds to a remote server and an app that would configure and score the game. The biggest challenge was fitting the amount of tech needed into a sleek, compact design whilst maintaining a high-quality video feed.
As part of the design review, we produced a low volume build of the existing prototype to test and analyse. Using the output, we made design recommendations to improve performance and streamline the manufacturability of the product.
Getting the camera tech right was a big piece of the puzzle. Our team carried out extensive research and testing to select the best camera component. We then designed and built a bespoke PCB that enabled the camera to interact with off the shelf components to bring the whole system together.
With a refreshed design that employed design for manufacture principles, we went on to successfully support Target Darts through the regulatory certification process and achieved CE, UKCA and FCC approval.
The result, a market ready product that is now available to purchase: https://bit.ly/40fuW5k
The IZLID is a compact, lightweight infrared laser device used by the military as a command pointer for target marking and communicating with aircraft. It is small enough to fit into the user’s pocket, or attach to their belt for quick access, offering swift guidance to ground personnel over a range of 39km.
Close Air Solutions (CAS) asked Cubik to design a simulator that replicated the look and feel of the IZLID’s aesthetics, ergonomics and user functions, without the infrared beam. The IZLID simulator needed to connect to CAS simulation system via a single USB lead and return data back to the simulation system.
The IZLID simulator is used in classroom based military training to help soldiers gain knowledge and experience of how it would behave in a real-world application. Simulation is a critical part of military training allowing soldiers to experience realistic scenarios in a virtual world, improving their decision making and readiness for combat situations.
The Reskube offers a simple solution providing access to both continuous power and uninterruptible internet connectivity for itself and any connected devices during a power outage. It’s sleek and portable design means that it can be used in a wide range of settings from powering a home office to life saving medical equipment. This intelligent device has the capability to detect and resolve issues before they become a problem.
With our friends at Bang Creations delivering the mechanical design, we were brought on board to design and build the system architecture and support the product through regulatory certification. We worked closely with Bang to ensure the electronic system fit the custom enclosure without compromising on quality and performance.
Designed with critical remote workers in mind the Reskube gives users the confidence to work from any location without fear of disruption. Outside of the home, Reskube maintains continuous operations during outages for small sites such as retail stores, construction sites, doctor's surgeries, and primary schools, ensuring that critical systems and equipment remain operational. Additionally, it offers the added benefit of remote monitoring and management. In global regions where power outages are commonplace the Reskube offers a source of reliability and resilience in an environment with unpredictable connectivity.
Bristol & London based company, Switchee Ltd developed a smart thermostat solution aimed at reducing energy bills in social housing. The intelligent device learns the routine of the household, detects when the house is not occupied and turns the heating on or off accordingly. The device allows valuable data to be gathered remotely reducing the requirement for complex interaction or configuration from the user.
Switchee approached Cubik for help with the development of the software drivers which allow the operating system to communicate with the hardware. This quickly evolved into a larger scheme of work that incorporated the printed circuit board (PCB) design, prototype manufacture and firmware development.
Switchee is the first internet-connect device in social housing. It delivers real-time data that gives housing providers the insights and tools they need to proactively support residents and manage homes.
With a Switchee device installed, energy efficiency can be optimised on a case-by-case basis reducing energy waste, lowering heating bills and cutting carbon emissions.
Operating in the lively technology sector within Bristol, Cubik Innovation sits in a prime position to enable us to be aware of grant funds. We have found the below funds which we would like to share with our customers:
Funding A:
Funding B:
If any of the above are of interest to you and you would like to discuss, please give us a call on 0117 244 3000 and we can get you on track to achieve your funding.
This month, we’re looking at what life is like in our Production department.
Overview
Production is always producing a noise! Whether it’s the tape gun sealing a box, the ultrasonic cleaning PCBs and 3D parts, or the sound of two pick and place machines placing 1000s of components an hour. And if for some strange reason none of that is happening, you can always count on the radio belting out a tune!
All manufacturing at Cubik Innovation is carried out within our ESD safe environment by one of our IPC certified specialist production engineers and always in line with our ISO 9001:2015 systems and IPC-A-610E standards. Our production team have a vast set of disciplines under their belts, each of them with a specific skillset and learning from one another through our in-house training programme.
Ordering and booking in
In a typical month, production will order and book in 1000’s of unique parts. The parts are marked up with designators and put into a kit or carousel ready for our production engineers to start the build.
Build
We build batches of boards on our pick and place machines. First, they are pasted on our stencil printer before being put on the pick and place machine where the surface mount components are placed. The PCB is then re-flowed in a reflow oven. Once complete, the surface mount components are inspected, and the through-hole components are added. Each PCB is subjected to rigorous testing and inspection before being packaged and dispatched to our customer.
Final inspection
All PCB’s that we build get a full inspection before they are dispatched. For smaller quantities, our production engineers carry out a thorough manual inspection under a microscope. For larger quantities we use an A.O.I (automated optical inspection) machine.
Testing, quality assurance and shipping
All PCBs are subjected to several semi-automated tests by our test engineers who have a passion for programming, testing and fault finding. For peace of mind, we quality assure every item before it is shipped to ensure nothing has been damaged during the manufacturing process. The PCB is then carefully packaged into either the PCB enclosure or into a static shielding bag. Only then can the boards leave our ESD safe area.
Contact with the customer
Whilst our Production team have limited interaction with customers some of our customers prefer a hands-on approach and collect their finished product in person. We often get customers popping in to see our facility and check progress throughout the build process.
On Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 October, Cubik Innovation were one of many exhibitors who attended the South Gloucestershire Business Show 2018, held at Bristol & Bath Science Park.
A wide range of companies from the local area attended the event. On the agenda, were a series of workshops and live talks that gave business leaders an opportunity to share knowledge and visitors and opportunity to have their say.
Our very own Paul Mullen (Managing Director) and Matthew Weatherburn (Project Manager) took to the floor throughout the exhibition to deliver words of wisdom to an engaged and enthusiastic audience.
With striking green graphics, our stand certainly stood out from the crowd and created quite the buzz amongst the delegates. Many visited to see our Pick and Place machine in action, and to pick up an electronic Cubik business card, which added a competitive element to the day.
We hope to make an appearance at many more trade shows so please look out for us and be sure to come and say hello.
Tom Holloway and Daniel Lloyd joined Cubik Innovation for their one week work experience from Colston’s School in Bristol. They were set the challenge of designing and building an unusual object that contained functioning electronics. The result was two fantastic 3D printed rockets that lit up.
Here is their diary from a fun filled week:
Monday
To start the first day of my work experience Tom and I had a quick tour of the office and met some of the staff. At 10am we joined the Monday Morning Meeting where the team discuss what they can improve on, project progress, upcoming projects and new staff and promotions. After the meeting we did some research on the business' past projects such as the Close Air Solutions. After lunch we met with Russell, who showed us a project of a steel lock that was wireless and could be unlocked with a keypad.
Tuesday
Tuesday started with CAD Solid Works. First, we made a hollow cylinder and a cone shape. Tom and I decided to apply both shapes together and try and create a rocket. We made it by remaking the cone on top as the head, a cylinder for the body and three fins above the bottom engine, that should help the rocket stand. We decided to further this rocket and add a window, detail on the booster engine and a Cubik Innovation logo. After lunch, Paul asked us to research the part for a circuit for an embedded system for a safety flash.
Wednesday
Today we worked with Charlie to make a circuit in a plug board for our project. We made an LED circuit that flickers to go under our rocket. In the plug board we used four LEDs - mine were green - and sexy cables that were used to link the resistors with Positive and Negative charge. We programmed the Microchip with the program called C to light the LEDs at different speeds and different delays. After we finished the programming, we started to plan how we will solder each component on the circuit.
Thursday
On Thursday, we started the day by trying to print the first prototype rocket, but it came out too small and wasn’t the right size for what we wanted. After we printed the prototype, we increased the scale to 1.8 so the inside will be big enough to hold the circuit and button.
Once we got the second rocket printing, we started to solder the components onto the variable board. We had to make sure that all the LEDs were the same direction, and all the flying wires were connected properly.
Friday
When I came into the office my 3D printed rocket was finished. The next step was to remove all the unwanted support and make the edges smoother. Due to complications after I had finished my variable board, my LEDs didn’t turn on because of the lack of space on the board for the wires to connect to. Shannon helped me redo my variable board and flying wires. My project was finally finished, and my rocket lit up at the touch of a button.
Monday
On the first day of work experience, we started the day with a tour of the office and an introduction to staff. Then at 10am all the staff had a meeting where we got an insight into previous case studies and looked at current and future projects. Promotions and new staff were also announced during the meeting. After the meeting, we then used the PC to study more case studies to understand what the business works on and produces. Later in the day, we worked with one of the members of the design team called Russell who showed us some of the projects he had worked on such as a wireless lock. Finally, to end the day we had an attempt at using 3D SolidWorks.
Tuesday
Today, we continued using 3D SolidWorks and made a cylinder and a cone. We decided to combine the shapes we made to started to construct a rocket using the software we created the body using a cylinder and added a cone to the top. We then designed three wings and engraved a window as swell as adding an engine shape to the bottom. Finally, we hollowed out the inside of the rocket so that we could add a circuit inside later in the week. After lunch, we worked with Paul researching a previous case study to learn and try out how the business solved problems when a customer comes to them with a product idea.
Wednesday
We started the day building circuits with intern Charlie. The circuits contained LED’s and resistors and gave us a view into how the electrical devices around us are wired up. Charlie then showed us the coding of a semiconductor chip to make the LED’s switch on and off making them flicker at different speeds. We applied this knowledge and had a go at coding our chips for our rockets light’s. We ended the day by planning our variable boards for our rockets with Charlie so we had a clear plan for Thursday on how the inside circuit of our rocket would be wired up.
Thursday
On Thursday, we went back to 3D SolidWorks and printed off our rocket design as to get an idea of sizing and scale. When the printing finished, we realized our design was far too small for us to fit a variable board inside; therefore, we scaled our rocket by an increase of 2 and started the printing process all over again. Whilst the rocket was printing, Charlie showed us how to solder the components off our circuits onto our variable boards. It was then time for us to have a go soldering some components onto the variable board.
Friday
We picked up where we left off Thursday and continued soldering components onto our variable boards. Also, the first rocket was finished printing, so it was time to print off mine. During this time, I finished soldering my components onto my variable board. When my rocket was finished printing, I removed all the unwanted support. Then, I attached a battery to the variable board and slotted a button to the hole we made in the back and soldered it to the variable circuit. The circuit was not complete, and I placed it inside my rocket and superglued the LED’S to the hole in the bottom of the engine giving the effect of flames coming from the bottom of the rocket and now it was finally finished.
After registering for The Gloucestershire Business Show as an exhibitor, we had a sudden panic - how can we make electronics fun, exciting and appealing to other people?
After a few cups of tea and emptying the biscuit tin (twice), we settled on doing something different - manufacturing our electronic business cards live on the stand. Little did we know how popular they’d be.
On Tuesday 16 May, we headed to Cheltenham Racecourse and began setting up our stand and noticed that our stand was drawing attention from other exhibitors. Once set up, we were eager to see what the delegates thought the next morning.
The first morning of the trade show was hectic as our production manager struggled to keep up with the demand for our electronic business card game. We had accounted for around 150 business card games over the two-day event but by lunch time on day one we had already given out over half.
The second day began with beautiful sunshine and one less member of our team. Paul Mullen, travelled south to the University of Plymouth’s Project Showcase where he met last year's intern Ryan and his fellow cohort.
The remaining team took to the stand, building and handing out more business cards and making new connections. We even made it into the Gloucestershire Business Show’s official video.
Throughout the two-day event, we met some fantastic people and made lots of new connections in and around the South West region.
Looking ahead, we’ll be setting up our stand at the South Gloucestershire Business Show at the Bristol and Bath Science Park in October 2017. We look forward to seeing you there!
We’ve had a busy start to the month as the trade show rollercoaster began with a visit to the South Glos Expo at the Bristol and Bath Science Park. The event is designed to provide businesses in South Gloucester with a forum to network, discuss problems and share ideas.
The team got stuck into the day by attending the ‘Hands Up! If you want more customers’ seminar by Barry Horne (sponsored by Innovecom) who specialises in Information Assurance. The seminar gave a great insight into IoT technologies and the risks that can be associated with connected devices.
The following day we were on the road again heading to the Midlands for Made in Britain’s ‘Marketing for Manufactures Workshop’ in Dudley, hosted by Thomas Dudley Ltd. The aim of the event was for UK manufactures to meet and share ideas.
Made in Britain is a not-for-profit campaign that supports and promotes British manufacturing, enabling buyers and consumers, at home and abroad to identify British made products. The idea for a universal marque to identify products made in Britain was conceived by Stoves, the Preston-based cooker manufacturer.
As a business that is passionate about manufacturing in the UK, we were delighted to join the Made in Britain campaign as a member in 2016.
Coming up, we will be taking our production line to the Gloucester Business Show at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse on 17 and 18 May. Why not pay us a visit on stand GD11 to see how we can help you and take away one of our electronic business cards.
Day One - Business
10am: This morning, Camilla showed me some of her work on the accounts. I didn’t realise how much there is to business accounting – it seems very complicated!
11am: Luke and Rory set me a task to make an infographic about technology. I chose to make it about robots, including facts about their development, from the fifth century BC to the present day. It talks about some of the most paramount leaps in ethics and developments in the field. Using my finite knowledge of art, I tried to use complimentary colours and gentle hues to draw people’s attention without being too garish.
Day Two - Design
11am: I spent the morning with Will looking at software. It was really interesting to see how the syntax works in different programming languages, as I’ve only studied a few. It helped me appreciate just how much effort and expertise goes into every prototype and project. It wasn’t anywhere near as simple a process as I had originally thought and the amount of time and thought that goes into it all is amazing.
4pm: I did a circuit project with Eli, calculating the resistance using Ohm’s Law. I used a breadboard to move a circuit containing different LED’s with different resistances. We then connected it to the computer and wrote a program that made the LED’s flash as quickly we wanted. It was like a GCSE Physics lesson at school, only much more interactive! I feel like I’ve got a lot more experience in circuits and the application of computer programs. It never occurred to me that the two could be combined. Today has been a real eye-opener into the world of design and I think it has made me appreciate that experience is just as valuable as theoretical knowledge, if not more so.
Day Three - Production
I spent the day in Production with Shannon and the rest of the team. In the morning we sorted, boxed, and packaged finished products ready to be sent to their customers.
After lunch, we shelved different electrical components and circuit boards. I also spoke to different members of the team about robotics degrees and sixth form options; apparently Plymouth would be a good university choice!
It was good to get a chance to put my limited theoretical knowledge into practice in a work environment; and talk to other people who have already made and experienced the choices I will have to make soon.
I have really enjoyed my three days at Cubik Innovation. Thanks to Paul, Mercedes and everyone else who helped me arrange this as well as all the staff who took timeout of their day to show me what they were doing. I looked for a work experience placement to tick a box at school; now I’m leaving Cubik with more experience and knowledge than I’d ever thought I’d get. Thank you for a great three days!
Over the past year, we were joined by Charlie Freestone who took up the post of Electronics Design Engineer Intern for the 2016-17 academic year. During his time at Cubik, Charlie was a welcome and vibrant addition to the team with his colourful attire and positive attitude. Before leaving to enjoy the last of his summer holidays, and his return to the University of Plymouth where he is studying for a degree in Robotics, we asked Charlie to reflect on his time with us.
My time at Cubik
What you learn at university is your bread and butter foundation. But since working at Cubik, I’ve found that there is so much more to learn than what you pick up doing a degree. Getting hands on design experience along with understanding the entirety of the production process is something you must experience. When you do a placement you learn the correct procedures, how to carry out tasks and how to document it correctly in the ‘real-world’.
How I feel about my internship
A lot of interns spend this time not being able to apply their knowledge to their year in industry. Not only was I pushed to apply what I have learnt on my course to the extreme, I was also challenged to learn new ways of applying that knowledge and even new theories. I found that there is a lot more to learn about the industry that isn’t taught at university including appreciating that the time taken to resolve an issue is more important than finding a fancy way of doing things; and that sometimes keeping it simple is a much better way to complete a project.
When working at Cubik the atmosphere makes it possible to do all these tasks every day. Whenever I had a problem, I was only 2 meters or 5 mins away from having an answer or learning a new perspective to apply to what I was doing. Everyone in the team could be doing different types of work, but they were always willing to help at the drop of a hat. Whether it’s demonstrating how to install the newest coding software or how to have a good night out.
What I have learnt
When creating documents for customers you must always remember that you won’t always address an engineer. When you write a document, you should ensure that you fully explain every part of a system as not everyone knows the terminology.
Learning how to correctly prioritise projects and tasks becomes more pronounced while on a placement. At university, you’re given a few modules that you must learn while doing coursework which can take up to 6 months to complete. At Cubik, you could have between 1 and 10 tasks that must be completed at any given time. Some will need to be completed before others and some will require assistance from other engineers across different departments, which meant I learnt crucial timekeeping and prioritising skills.
Going forward
The internship at Cubik has given me experience of the product development lifecycle – from design and development, through to manufacturing processes. I have witnessed and contributed to every part of this process during my year which has given me the ability to make a strong choice on where I want to be after I finish my course. I want to stay on track to become an engineer.
Working with such a wide range of customers at the earliest stage of their journey means we get a rare and exciting insight into the latest problems that entrepreneurs, SME’s and global organisations face when making an electronic product. Whilst every product is different and comes with its own requirements, we have a tried and tested process that we believe ensures successful product design.
Recently, Paul Mullen (Managing Director) and Sophie Adams-Foster (Business Manager) were invited by SETSquared to run a workshop at The Engine Shed aimed at demystifying the development process of electronic products.
The workshop outlined the product development lifecycle with a deeper look at the planning stages of developing an idea and the value that quality preparation can bring. Not just to the final product, but also the business behind it.
Paul also gave a brief introduction to CE Marking, routes to market and the pitfalls of using Open Sourced design in the prototyping stage.
Hosted by Monika Radcliffe, the workshop was attended by SETSquared members, mentors and University staff and students from a variety of backgrounds. Attendees were able to contribute to the session and posed interesting and challenging questions.
Feedback from the event has been positive and with requests for additional workshops that focus on specific issues – watch this space!
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