Isodyne received a RFQ (Request for Quote) from a new customer. The RFQ indicated the customer requested two different material options for the backshells they needed. The material requirements were very far apart in terms of environmental conditions. One was Stainless steel (high corrosion resistant, extreme temperature resistant, heavy mass, expensive, long lead time), and the other was aluminum with a chem film coating (pretty much the opposite of stainless in each category).
Our Regional Sales Manager (RSM) contacted them to inquire about the selections they might make and to find out more about what they were doing. Our RMS discovered they were designing cable assemblies for a military application and got the Pick 3 Cable Design team involved.
Our RSM set up a video call to discuss the project in further detail. The call included procurement, program management, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and other people involved in the project. We described why we wanted to discuss the options they selected:
- What’s the environment?
- What’s the military platform or application?
- Where are these cables located in the platform?
Do they have to mate to existing connectors with the platform? - Do they need to be field repairable?
- Are they required to be EMI compliant and a laundry list of other pertinent questions that could determine the design of the cable assembly.
During the conversation, the engineering group in charge of the design basically said they had no idea of all the options available and that they are mostly a thermo dynamic company with no real harness design experience. They indicated they researched online the components they thought were best suited for their application and put some drawings together like they had done before. They explained that their previous project that had taken over a year to get prototypes built and they still had problems!
The previous project had been a real headache for their cable design group, and as we detailed what our approach would be it became apparent they had not thought of or been exposed to the questions we were asking. We indicated we could take a lot of that grief away by designing the cables based on their application and our experience, source the designs to a reputable cable shop, and manage that process all the way to prototype completion and test. They thought that the cost and rapid response would be a much better deal for them, and they could save money and have working prototypes in their hands much faster.
After filling out NDA’s and getting a secure file transfer set up, they supplied all the information they had, and we put a detailed proposal together. They then told us they needed prototypes by end of April 2021. Our plan was a tight squeeze to make that happen, but it was possible. We had a 15-30-minute video calls weekly to track the progress, and Pick 3 Cable Design nailed it. Our customer was very satisfied with the service we provided and the cables were delivered on time and so far have performed great.
The positive feedback from our customer has led to another project with them currently and comments like “you guys are like part of our team now” indicates the value that the Pick 3 Cable Design team has contributed to another happy customer.