Case study

Challenge

• Our customer approached us seeking a new vibration motor supplier, for an FDA Class II diabetic insulin monitor.
• This device, was already well established in the market, but they were experiencing an unacceptably high number of IQC motor failures, from their existing supplier.
• They also had developed a concern over the existing motor’s longevity performance, after undertaking an investigation prompted by excessive returns under warranty. 
• They decided they wanted to replace the current vibration motor with one from a more robust manufacturer, and ideally a drop-in replacement.
• They revised the specifications to include a challenging longevity target.

Solution

• To deliver a drop-in replacement we had to meet a number of strict constraints. The motor had to fit the current housing as a redesign was impossible.
• The customer also had a tight constraint on current draw and vibration amplitude.
• We took an existing mechanical design and adjusted the motor’s winding to produce a bespoke vibration motor. This was able to meet their size, performance, and current draw specifications.
• We tested our proposed motor on our longevity testing machines to prove that that our solution would meet the newly specified durability requirements.

Results

• We ramped up production through a pilot and into mass manufacture. In doing so we eliminated the problems introduced by quality fade from the old supplier.
• In addition we engineered a solution to meet a more robust durability criteria, thereby greatly diminishing the number of units returned under warranty (because of motor failure) to a negligible amount.  
• Because our solution was a drop-in replacement, the customer didn’t need to re-engineer any of their aluminium housings or change any of their production tools.
• Furthermore, because the drop-in replacement had an equivalent spec the customer was able to adopt the new part without a significant FDA re-submission.  

STAGE 1

Designing for application

• After analysing the device, our engineers adapted an existing motor design with a bespoke winding. We were able to manufacture a custom vibration motor that exactly matched the size, performance, and current draw specifications.
• This meant that our motor would fit directly into the existing housing and production tooling without any redesign. 
• We worked with the customer to develop a suitable test profile to simulate application usage. Motors were then tested in this way for durability on our longevity testing machines.

STAGE 2

Testing and validation

• Our motor engineering expertise combined with our technical diligence, meant that our replacement solution worked far better than the original motor.
• Our client was able to use existing enclosures and tools without any modification, reducing their wastage and production costs.
• We saved the customer time and money by avoiding a resubmission to the FDA for a 510(K) clearance, which would have been costly, time consuming, and may have caused a production stop.

STAGE 3

Results and relationship

• The high number of motor failures has been eliminated, and no devices are being returned under motor failure warranty with our solution. 
• All our motors are diligently quality controlled, to ensure no risk of quality fade.
• The customer was able to seamlessly transition over to our motor without any production changes.
• Overall our risk management helped them avoid an adverse impact to their brand.