coatmaster AG has developed, manufactured and successfully marketed a mobile handheld device for contactless coating thickness measurement. Customer feedback, functional enhancements, and increased production volumes suggested a revision of the product.
coatmaster AG asked Helbling to redesign the existing device. Key requirements were cost reduction, assembly optimization, implementation of new functions, and improvement of the system's robustness. The focus of the work was on changing the manufacturing process to injection molding for the housing parts while retaining the existing industrial design.
coatmaster AG asked Helbling to redesign the existing device. Key requirements were cost reduction, assembly optimization, implementation of new functions, and improvement of the system's robustness. The focus of the work was on changing the manufacturing process to injection molding for the housing parts while retaining the existing industrial design.
Technologies
Key Figures
- Advanced Thermal Optics (ATO) as measuring technology
- Non-destructive coating thickness measurement of wet and powder coatings in the range 1 - 1000 µm
- Measuring time 0.25 s, waiting time between two measurements 2 s
- Documentation of measurement data in a cloud solution
- Weight 1.3 kg
- Dimensions 374 x 91 x 203 mm3
Our Contribution
- Redesign of housing parts and parting lines to optimize for injection molding process
- Implementation of improvements based on customer feedback
- Optimization of serviceability
- Evaluation of supply chain partners with respect to mold making and injection moding
- Design transfer including Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
Outcome
Helbling was able to keep the BOM costs below target by redesigning for injection molding. The well-known and accepted industrial design, on the other hand, was retained. The redesign also cut the assembly effort by 25 %. In addition, Helbling implemented customer feedback by introducing new functions and numerous improvements in coordination with coatmaster AG.
