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Services...
Introduction
Silicon Valley Instruments, LLC provides a seamless
pathway for the development of complex electromechanical
biomedical products from concept to large-scale manufacture
on a worldwide platform. We add value for our clients
by manufacturing proprietary products on a private label
basis. The following Case Studies illustrate the diversified
capabilities of the SVI staff:
Case Studies
Trends In Outsourcing
One of the most profound and profitable trends
of modern business today is outsourcing labor-intensive
tasks involved in the development and manufacture. SVI
fills a special need for companies that need to introduce
a new product quickly without tying up valuable in-house
resources. Silicon Valley Instruments will design and
build your product including all prototyping and purchasing
of all components and fabricated parts.
Rapid
Design Increased Revenues & Beats Competition
Lower priced instruments require skills in affordable
design and reliable construction. The SVI team was asked
to quickly design a low-cost incubator to be used by
physicians engaged in assisted reproductive technology.
The incubator was designed to be used in a office to
reliably store sperm samples in a controlled atmosphere
in an operator friendly manner.
 Our
partner company needed working units for an upcoming
trade show, so we generated the product specification,
defined the physical characteristics, established the
aesthetic look of the instrument, and completed the
design in four weeks. Within a week of finalizing the
design, we had the first production line operational.
Our quick time to market helped realize
revenue quicker than anticipated and beat competitors
to the market.
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Unique
Robotics Increases Wafer Throughput
Our partner was developing a fully automated
high-speed Asher based on their core microwave technology.
The space available for the Asher footprint was limited
and the throughput was so high that none of the commercially
available solutions could be used in this application.
Our partner was on a tight schedule and needed a production
ready solution within four months.
 We
met this challenge by applying basic engineering analysis
and design principles from the ground up. A robot was
designed with an end effector that would pick up and
transport 12 wafers at a time. The limited space problem
was solved by employing telescoping stages so that the
robotic mechanisms fit into existing clean rooms.
The end result was a fully integrated
modular front-end 200 mm wafer handler that bolted onto
our customer's Asher. The robot produced the stroke
necessary to retrieve wafers out of a SMIF-Pod, depositing
them onto an accumulator buried inside the Asher. The
robots were developed, built, fully documented and in
production in just four months.
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Quality
Design Leads to FDA Approval
Our partner company purchased the intellectual
rights and rough prototype for a revolutionary radiotherapy
treatment system from a major University. From this
prototype we developed a production-ready design, built
pilot production units, and provided a documentation
package ready for our partner to proceed with FDA 510K
approvals and clinical trials.
 We
worked closely with a major supplier of modulated accelerators
to insure the instrument interface was within tolerance
and was recognized as an integrated tool on the accelerator.
The complete system integrates electronics, cameras,
precision optics, and an elliptical Cerrobend collimator
to control spot size of the high-energy beam shaped
by the accelerator.
With our partner company we produced
a fully integrated positioning system contained on an
electronics cart that could be rolled in and out of
the accelerator room in the matter of minutes.
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Higher Throughput Yields Greater Profits
This high-end instrument was introduced at SEMICON
2003. SVI updated an existing product to provide a better
user interface, increase the throughput, and reduce
the overall unit cost.
 Starting
from the ground up, we met this challenge by applying
basic industrial design and human factors along with
engineering analysis and design principles. The frame
was completely redesigned to provide a stable structure
for higher operating speeds. We also reduced part count
by incorporating several previously discrete features.
Additionally, we collected input from
assemblers, service technicians, and customer service
that resulted in a system that meets up front technical
requirements and reduces downstream maintenance costs.
The end result was a system where throughput
increased from 6,500 to 14,000 units per hour, material
cost of the unit was cut in half, assembly measured
in hours, not days, and service calls are now dealt
with by modular replacements instead of complete system
reworks. Our customer could provide a more competitive
product at a reduced cost yielding higher revenues and
increased profits. Our customer realized a complete
project payback in four short months.
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220 Vineyard Court,
Suite 100, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Ph: 408-776-7776 - Fax: 408-776-7772 - ODM@SVInstruments.com
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