This electronic brochure highlights our capabilities and activities in the area of Replacement Engineering for Electronic Systems. Please sign our guestbook. For additional information, e-mail Tom Untermeyer, Southwest Research Institute.

Replacement Engineering for Electronic Systems

For more than 10 years, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has provided replacement engineering services, particularly in electronics, to military and industrial clients. The Institute designs and develops systems and components using state-of-the-art technology to update or replace outdated or unreliable equipment. By inserting advanced technology into existing systems, SwRI can solve problems associated with:

Poor reliability
Difficult maintenance
Unsatisfactory performance
Lack of replacement components
Unreasonable sole-source pricing
Inadequate documentation

As an independent research and development organization conducting research in diverse applications, SwRI provides teams qualified to conduct all aspects of replacement engineering, including:

Requirements analysis and definition
User interviews
Computer-aided analysis and design
Market surveys
Reliability and maintainability analysis
Electronic hardware development
Software development
Mechanical hardware development
Printed circuit board layout
Fabrication
Installation planning
Environmental testing
Design documentation
Pilot production
Competitive procurement

The Institute has re-engineered and replaced a wide variety of ground support equipment for tactical aircraft, including a phase-sensitive voltmeter, which tests synchro resolvers on the F-111, and a precision ratio bridge, which calibrates F-111 fuel system components. SwRI also developed this portable battery-powered instrument to periodically test the chaff and flare dispenser systems of tactical aircraft.

Using computer-aided engineering (CAE), SwRI analyzes existing designs, to evaluate potential replacement designs, and new designs under development. The system supports the modeling and simulation of both digital and analog electronics.

Industry uses replacement engineering to maintain or enhance equipment. The Institute automated the control of this terminal crimping machine, used to manufacture wire harnesses for critical automotive systems.

This brochure was published in June 1994. For more information about replacement engineering for electronic systems, contact Tom Untermeyer, Automation and Data Systems Division, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510, Phone (210) 522-5040, Fax (210) 522-3396.

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