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.
We are delighted to announce that for the third year in a row we have passed the International ISO 9001:2008 quality management audit, with no non-conformities.
ISO 9001 is the world’s most widely recognised quality management system accreditation and monitors quality across our business, benchmarking consistent performance and service with the goal to enhance customer satisfaction.
Paul Mullen, Managing Director of Cubik Innovation said:
“Achieving this accreditation demonstrates our continued commitment to quality and by passing with zero non-conformities highlights the efforts of the team and their personal dedication to providing a quality service all that they do. Quality and an excellent service is at the heart of what we do at Cubik”.
To achieve the ISO 9001:2008 standard the company must demonstrate adherence to its own quality system followed by completing multiple reviews that cover all operational procedures within the organisation. Cubik Innovation was independently assessed in August 2016 by SGS and completed the two-day audit process with zero non-conformities.
Paul would like to thank Sam Beard, Cubik’s Quality Manager, and the internal audit team for all their hard work before and during the two-day assessment.
Over the past 4 years, we have been very at home at the Bristol & Bath Science Park. However, following a significant period of growth the time has come to move onto pastures new and we will be relocating to a larger premises in Fishponds, Bristol.
Just 3 miles away from Science Park and with excellent transport links but we will continue to maintain a presence at the science park for our current customers and will attend future tenant events.
Verona House has been designed with a greater production space for both prototype and batch manufacture which reflects the growing demand in the UK.
Speaking about moving into a 4,750 square foot design space Managing Director, Paul Mullen, said:
“This is an exciting time for the business. The past four years has shown that our hard work and passion for electronics and prototyping is paying off and the demand for our service is apparent in South West and beyond. This move will allow us to offer our customers a greater experience while continuing to grow in the developing business community in the South West”.
The unique facility will feature a custom design space, customer meeting rooms, prototyping facilities including 3D printing for rapid prototyping, mechanical design, and assembly. Our in house, electronic production department includes two build lines that include:
We will update our website with more information but the design space is scheduled to open on 4 July 2016 with an official launch ceremony to follow.
Our new address is:
Cubik Innovation, Verona House, Filwood Road, Bristol, BS16 3RY
All email addresses and telephone numbers will remain the same.
This year, we celebrated our 4th birthday in style! Not only was there a very colourful cake (with hidden surprises), but we also celebrated our first birthday in our new home at Verona House in Fishponds.
We’ve had an incredible year and a particularly exciting couple of months. Sadly, some members of the team have left for pastures new, but we’ve also had some new recruits join the team.
Cubik continues to stride forward with new contracts and new equipment to expand our service offering and develop in house skills that enable us to offer our customers an even better service.
For Managing Director, Paul Mullen, a birthday is always a good opportunity to reflect on the past year, and look ahead to the next:
‘’The team at Cubik have continued to give their all this year and we truly are stronger than ever. We have completed some fantastic projects with new ones won, enabling the business to move forward into its very own office space. The next year ahead looks exciting, and I can’t wait to be part of it with this team.’’
This week, we were joined by George Lear from Mangotsfield School for a week of work experience. George is currently a Year 10 student with impressive knowledge and hands on experience with the Raspberry Pi. His interests are electronics, engineering, and design which he is studying at school.
Here’s what George got up to during his at Cubik HQ:
Day 1
I started the day sitting in on the Monday Morning Meeting. The meeting was full of discussion about the business and what everyone’s priorities were for the week ranging from administration to production.
After the meeting I went onto working with Ryan (Electronics Intern) who showed me a report that must be completed when there is a problem with a product. He showed me how to complete it so that anyone should be able to read it and understand it without needing to know anything about electronics.
The final task of the day was to test some products that had been previously found faulty to see if the repairs carried out by the Production Team had worked.
Day 2
I began by working with Eli (Design Engineer) who took me into the workshop to test an intelligent security device that lets you know when it is being tampered with. It can detect all sorts of attacks from drilling to heating. Whilst in the workshop we hit the device with a hammer, cut it with a saw and attacked it violently with an angle grinder to find out if the sensor responded to all the different types of attacks.
After that I moved on to working with Giles (Design Engineer) and Sam (Production Manager) who were testing another piece of smart security technology. This included testing if the device triggered when a door was opened, or a loud nose was heard. It would then send a text message to a database informing the security team that an alarm had been activated letting them know a possible intruder had entered.
I finished off the day by doing a research task to find a step-up DC-DC converter that Cubik could use instead of an old chip that is no longer manufactured.
Day 3
Today I worked with Paul (Technical Software Lead) who showed me how the software side of electronics is done. It turns out is it a very complicated part of an electronics product. This took up the morning and was really fascinating. After lunch I got the chance to have ago myself which I found a great challenge.
I managed most of the tasks, including making a name display which started and stopped when you pressed the button. The only task which I could not manage was creating a reverse button that played the names in reverse when the button was pressed.
Apart from my lack of skills the day went well, and I have particularly liked having a go at programming myself. It is incredibly annoying at times but when you get it right it is very rewarding, and you end up with a working piece of software.
Day 4
Today I worked on a new power supply for a recent project that used a chip that is no longer available. It needed to be capable of powering the system just like the old chip did. Me, Eli (Design Engineer) and Russell (Design Engineer) tried to get it to work but none of us could.
We were supposed to get 5v from the output but the max we could get was 4v without a load. Whatever we tried to do it made it worse or the output stayed the same.
After lunch I used the internet to try to find a similar chip that could do the trick. I managed to find one so when it arrives it will have to also be tested to see if it gives us the 5v needed.
Day 5
Today I started in production leaning how to get boards ready for the pick and place machine. I had the role of putting the solder onto the boards by smearing the solder paste through a stencil and onto the board. This was then ready to be put in the pick and place machine and before going into the oven.
After lunch I started to build another power supply with a different chip. Thankfully this time it worked and gave us 5v on the output. We then did some testing on the power supply to find the efficiency and how well the voltage could keep its self-up to 5v.
I had a really great week at Cubik and I have learnt many new skills. A big thank you to everyone at Cubik for letting me come and see what happens when producing a new piece of technology.
This week we announced that we will be renewing our long-standing sponsorship with Cleve RFC. The renewed partnership will see an increase in the brand’s presence with our logo showcased on the under 14s jerseys, as well as a panel at the stadium.
Cleve RFC is an amateur rugby club based in Mangotsfield, Bristol and they are currently playing in the National League 3 South West. The decision to renew the sponsorship was taken after seeing the impressive impact the club had on the local community.
Paul Mullen, Managing Director of Cubik Innovation said:
“Being a supporter and partner of Cleve RFC is a privilege. We are delighted to be sponsoring the team and we hope that this latest extension shows our commitment to the local community. We will be following the team closely and wish them the best of luck for the coming season.”
This week, we were joined by Will Couch from BTE Academy for his one week work experience – on our first week in our new home!
Here’s what Will got up to at the new Cubik HQ:
Day 1
On the first day I was given a tour by Sophie, Cubik’s Business Manager. Straight after there was a Monday Morning Meeting where everyone discussed projects and what needed to be done for the week.
Paul gave me the task of researching and designing a way of detecting motion on vehicle trucks, to identify when they are in use. As part of the solution, Paul then explained and talked me through what an MPU 9250 chip was, and how it has 9 axes, 3 compass, 3 Gyro and 3 accelerometers. I then made my own box chart for the actual microprocessor.
Throughout the day I was given small tasks by Sophie and Elaine.
Day 2
The second day, Will, one of Cubik’s software developers, took me through how the software and coding worked for a project they were working on. The code he showed me was linked to the vehicles motion I had researched yesterday. After that, Paul Kelly, Cubik’s Lead Software Engineer showed me how to code in C#. I wrote a code that lists 5 names in a text box and once you click the reverse button it outputs the names on the screen backwards, surprisingly complicated!
Day 3
On the third day, I was in the production lab with Barney, one of Cubik’s apprentices. First, I checked all the soldered points for any impurities; this was part of the test process. Barney then led me through how to test the boards, and what to look out for. We then tested half of the boards to see if they worked. Out of the boards we tested one failed, so it will have to be reworked by the production engineers.
Day 4
Today I researched audio amplifiers. Paul gave me the task of researching chips. He gave me a set criterion for what had to be included in the chip. The power, the type of chip, and supply voltage were all important things I had to look at. I also had to find a place that we could buy the amplifiers from, so that we can use it to make an audio amplifier on my final day.
Day 5
On the final day, I made an audio amplifier that included the speaker and audio amplifier chip that we chose yesterday, and lots of resistors and capacitors. First, we bread boarded it to see if the circuit worked. A picture of the breadboarded circuit can be seen below. Once we tested it on there (it didn’t sound great at this point) I soldered it onto Vero board, this made it much smaller, with everything being closer together. It had a 3.5mm audio jack on the top and a switch to turn it on and off. It was all contained in a plastic rectangle case with three holes drilled in it, one big one for the speaker, one rectangle one for the slide switch and one on the top for the audio jack. To drill the holes in the box I got to work in the mechanical lab and help select the enclosure, location of the holes and help drill the holes out using a hole drilling tool. It was then ready to be all fitted together and final tested. For this we plugged my phone in and played a song I had on it.
Cubik Innovation have received notification that an expected production batch for November has been postponed which has left us with spare capacity on our line. To make good use of the production time, we would like to offer the spare production capacity to our customers at a reduced rate.
Place an order with us by close of play on Friday 11 November to be eligible to a 10% discount on your order.
We have limited slots, only the first 3 customers to apply will be accepted for this offer.
Call us on: 0117 244 3000 OR Email us: enquiries@cubik-innovation.co.uk
Last year, we won Start-up Business of the Year at the Bristol Post 2015 Business Awards and ended the summer with Managing Director, Paul Mullen, receiving Highly Commended in the Small Company Director Category at the Institute of Directors South West Region Director of the Year Awards. Not a bad year for our exciting young team.
Following on from our success, Cubik Innovation was recently shortlisted for the SME Manufacturing Company of the Year (Turnover below £25m) Award at the Insider Media Ltd Made in the South West Awards.
The award is for a manufacturing company based in the South West, with a turnover of less than £25m, that has demonstrated excellence and made an outstanding contribution to the manufacturing sector in the region between the period 1 July 2015 to 20 June 2016.
On Wednesday 2 November, Paul Mullen (Managing Director) and Luke Davies (Technical Project Manager), represented Cubik Innovation at this year’s ceremony held at Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel. The event showcases manufacturing from across the South West and offers local companies the opportunity to celebrate their ongoing commitment to world-class quality and excellence.
The evening was full of splendour and ceremony, with the duo dressed in penguin suits and Paul’s signature waist coat. The evening was hosted by acclaimed Comedian, Jimmy McGhie, with a very entertaining comedic interlude following the night’s guest speaker Don Cameron of Cameron Balloons. Don gave a brilliant insight into the world of ballooning and how a conversation in his local gliding club bar turned into the Bristol institution known as Cameron Balloons.
The highlight of the event was the awards ceremony itself. We were amongst good company having been shortlisted alongside Future Advanced Manufacture, Blue Badge Company, Woodwarm Stoves and Gripsure UK. But it was Marshfield Bakery who were crowned SME Manufacturing Company of the Year (Turnover below £25m).
We would like to congratulate Marshfield Bakery on their win, a well-deserved award for a fantastic company. If you guys’ fancy sending over any of your celebration cakes that would be great.
Happy new year to all our customers, design partners and suppliers - we hope you had a fantastic festive period.
Last year, was a big one for Cubik and our industry. We saw huge growth in the development of wearable technology and the explosion of the IoT (The Internet of Things) – but what’s next? Here are 6 trends we think you’ll be seeing more of in 2016:
3D printers move from the makers to the mainstream
In 2015, 3D printers reduced in price dramatically with many desktop FDM printers becoming fast, functional, reliable, and accessible. We’ve already seen from our own experience, more and more inventors and small companies using 3D printing to develop fast turn around prototypes, and this will only continue to build.
Following 3D system’s announcement to discontinue their entry level consumer 3D printer, The Cube, alongside the closure of Cubify.com and its popular retail product lines, the consumer pull for 3D printers in every home study and maker’s workshop, seems to have slowed. It is evident that the main players in 3D printing are certainly pledging their allegiance to the industrial market.
For the last few years 3D printing has rocketed in popularity and gained real footing as a functional manufacturing process. In 2016 and beyond, it will find its true calling to go hand in hand with design, prototyping and innovation within high tech engineering and business and will become less of a novelty and more of an industry standard.
In the higher end of additive manufacturing, boundaries are already being pushed regarding materials and composites which will only be furthered this year.
Taking healthcare into your own hands
With the introduction of smart watch applications, like FitBit, in recent years, this trend has the mileage to become something huge over the next 12months and a part of our lives for years to come. Devices which encourage healthy lifestyles and behaviours, promote effective medical management, provide relevant and accurate information at the time of treatment, and deliver cost effective, post treatment recovery planning are the future of personal healthcare, with a growing number of products already on the market.
With an ever-growing consciousness towards health, an NHS in financial trauma and an ageing population, the demand for this technology is increasing. As technological barriers are broken down, and IoT is improved, this industry will boom.
IoT still homeless
As the standards which will inevitably force competing entities to connect and work together move further apart, our connected home of the future could be along way off. Google (and friends) introduced their ‘thread’ the networking protocol once anticipated to lead the IoT evolution. But with the sheer volume and diversity of standards available it’s still a market that is difficult to navigate for both developers and consumers alike.
Despite this IoT is showing no signs of slowing. You don’t need to be in the industry to know home automation is massive and undoubtedly the future of domestic living. Over the past year we have seen the number of new enquiries coming directly from this industry grow exponentially.
One of our larger customers, Switchee, a start-up based at London’s Makerversity, are developing a smart thermostat exclusively designed to help affordable housing providers fight fuel poverty and boasts a range of additional features geared towards clever automation. The unit detects high humidity levels to safeguard against dangerous mould, alerts users when the temperature drops below a safe level and includes a messaging feature for contacting dependant tenants quickly and easily. Switchee is already on trial with several leading Housing Associations. Check back for our full case study in the coming months with details on how our Software and Production teams have helped make this happen.
Smart metering, finally
In 2013, an £11bn Government scheme was launched with plans to install an estimated 53 million new smart meters to around 30 million homes and small businesses. It gained a lot of attention in the press with multi million pound fines imposed on partnered utility companies for repeatedly missing supply targets.
With the rescheduled rollout due to begin in October 2016 and a planned conclusion in 2020, utility companies will need to up their game to meet installation deadlines. The government has also reported a £90 million investment is needed from the development team behind the infrastructure to improve the vital communications system that has rendered many of the country’s existing smart meters ‘dumb’.
A nod to the future
Whilst touchscreen is still very much at the forefront, we predict a new revolution in user interface to be gesture recognition. This trend is already gaining momentum as semiconductor manufacturers add gesture recognition functions and applications to existing sensor product lines; and the rise of electromyographic wearable sensors gains momentum.
USB C as standard
The USB C is small enough to work with the smallest of peripheral devices. It allows for reverse plug orientation and carries significantly more current than previous generations. We have seen a gradual turn to this type of connection amongst our customers which is sure to continue this year and progressively become an industry standard.
One more prediction
So there we have it, 2016 predictions made. We predict 2016 at Cubik HQ to be much like 2015 – but better! We hope to me a new cohort of exciting and innovative inventors, SMEs, and organisations with promising ideas, plans and concepts for electronic products and systems.
If you’d like to begin the new year by kicking off a new project, get in touch with our team to discuss our bespoke electronic product design, concept to production process.
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