Challenge:

Shorten Design Cycles for Customer Samples and Solutions

Start-up companies understand that faster is usuallybetter when it comes to circuit board design. This is especially true amongstcompanies whose products enable consumer electronics applications. Mostde-signs require numerous iterations, causing drawn out board house turn-aroundtimes, which can be ex-tremely frustrating and costly for the manufacturers andcustomers involved.

Wireless antenna manufacturer Dockon is very familiarwith this scenario. Since the company provides cus-tomized compound antennadesigns for wireless de-vices and applications, they often complete dozens ofiterations of prototype designs before a product is final. Dockon needed asolution that could help them provide their customers with custom designsamples and solu-tions in a timely and professional manner.

Solution:

LPKF Rapid PCB Prototyping

To meet demand for timely product design solutions,Dockon turned to rapid PCB Prototyping equipment by LPKF®. Dockon was able tosave significant time by performing prototype design iterations in-house,elimi-nating time and costs associated with hiring external board houses.LPKF’s PCB Prototyping system allows Dockon to complete accurate designiterations in a matter of minutes, enabling easy accommodation of customerrequests.

Results:

In-house Capabilities Yield Faster Turn-Arounds andEffective Sales Tools

Today, Dockon is confident they can complete cus-tomerrequests for prototype examples quickly and professionally.

AsDirector of Engineering Ryan Orsi states,

“Design iterations used to take 3-4 days each. With theLPKF system, we’ve gotten our turn-around time between iterations down to amatter of minutes. By using LPKF’s system, we’ve leaped beyond what we thoughtwas possible.”

Bringing prototyping equipment in-house has also helpedDockon’s sales efforts. The company uses its LPKF machine to produce functionalsamples for sales meetings. This has proved extremely valuable for Dockon, andhas helped them verify claims made about their products.

“Dockon claims our technology is powerful andeffi-cient,” says Orsi. “By using the LPKF system, we can quickly and reliablyproduce quality samples that help us prove those claims. From a salesperspective, that’s really valuable.”

In addition, Orsi claims the LPKF system has providedsignificant savings due to much faster turnaround times and by keeping thedesign process in-house.

“The LPKF system has saved us thousands of dollars permonth. When you factor in shipping costs associ-ated with board houses and thetime it takes to wait for the results, the LPKF system has paid for itselfwithin a year.”

LPKF ProtoMat S100 PCBMilling Machine

LPKFLaser & Electronics North America

 LPKF Laser & Electronics AGmanufactures ma-chines and laser systems used in electronics fabri-cation, theautomotive sector, and the production of solar cells. Around 20 percent of theworkforce is engaged in research and development.