August 1, 2008 — A new configurable lab facility available in the Signal Exploitation and Geolocation Division at Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) will allow for fabrication and testing of a wide variety of engineering models, prototypes and hardware.
The flexible facility, termed "Probay," is a 3,000-square-foot workspace designed to be easily reconfigured to accommodate a variety of production and testing requirements. All work benches, assembly and test equipment, storage cabinets and shelving, partitions, network and communication lines, and electrical power can easily be moved and reconfigured in less than 30 minutes to meet specific project needs.
"Our core competencies traditionally have been in the area of specialized, low-volume electronics, and production of direction-finding antennas," said Robert Grover, assistant director of the Production and Operations Department at SwRI. "This new facility allows us to take that expertise and adapt it to other types of work for a broader client base."
SwRI clients are increasingly asking for delivery of field-ready hardware as opposed to simply delivering prototypes or engineering models. "Having manufacturing facilities, equipment, staff and processes in place to transition SwRI designs into deployable equipment offers our clients a 'one-stop shop' to meet their needs," Grover said. "Providing end-item units also allows us to maintain contact with our clients by providing field support, spares, repairs and upgrades."
Technology transfer services include the transition from design to production as well as to multiple quantity production including mechanical fabrication, printed circuit board population, electronics assembly, protective packaging, final surface coatings, specialized testing and performance validation.
The Signal Exploitation and Geolocation Division at SwRI is certified to ISO 9001:2000, "Quality Systems-Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Develop, Production, Installation and Servicing," for all phases of project work. In addition, the division is in the process of attaining a Level 3 Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) rating.
For more information contact SwRI Solutions.