Custom Development
Hardware Development
Software Development
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> Services: Custom Hardware (and System) Development
   

It would be fair to say that everything that Aardvark sells involves a hardware content and all that hardware is designed in-house.

But we are also keen to design hardware for OEMs, with flexible financial arrangements.

  1. We are always happy to quote you fixed price basis.
  2. We are always happy to quote you time and materials basis.
  3. We are often happy to quote you on a partial development cost basis, followed by a royalty payment on future units sold.
  4. We may even be willing to undertake the complete development at our own risk, in return for a royalty payment on future units sold.

Our typical, "bread and butter" project would be a self-contained printed circuit board, often with a microcontroller, and a collection of signal-conditioning circuitry around that microcontroller. On a project such as this, we would normally write the applications software too, to provide a complete solution. However, that is by no means obligatory. We can design hardware for you for your software development team to program if you wish.

But do not think that if the presence of a microcontroller is obligatory. A recent project involved a hardware-only "battery balancing" circuit for a wind farm, for example.

The scope of delivery is flexible, based on the fnancial agreement for the project on which all parties agree up-front.

For small production runs, especially prototypes, we would normally have the printed circuit assemblies produced in the UK.

We also have a Chinese manufacturing partner, who can supply higher quantities of PCAs with Asian pricing.

Following the prototype stage we would supply the complete design database, for you to have the electronics manufactured by your favourite supplier.

Once again, the scope of supply depends of the financial terms agreed upon.

Examples of Past OEM Hardware / System Development Projects

We were recently commissioned to produce a range of interface PCAs for use as part of a Fire and Gas Detection System for use in the North Sea. These interfaced a range of flame detectors, heat detectors and gas detectors to the system. Our design used 21st century technology to replace legacy devices from the 1980s, that has pased their operational life.

An ongoing project is for an Interational Printer Manufacturer and interfaces their printers to machines for use in a gambling application. This is based on the Renesas RX621 microcontroller. We also supplied all the embedded firmware for this system.

We undertook a custom development for a blue chip game operator in the UK. This involved hardware to operate a loyalty scheme for their members as well as gathering financial information from the BACTA ports of their AWP machines (fruit machines) and making this information available across the worldwide web.

We undertook a custom development for an International Bill Validator manufacturer, once again for a casino application. The board communicated with the bill validator during normal operation, recording bills stacked information into an RFID "tag". This was then automatically read in the casino counting room, to allow the bills counted to be compared with the bills stacked, in an attempt to prevent theft.

Designed a pair of boards for an Electrical Vehicle Recharge System. The purpose of these boards was to communicate safely with vehicles under charge, in such a manner as to comply with Underwriters Laboratories requirements for EV chargers in the United States.

So regardless of the complexity of your hardware requirement, or of you combined hardware / software system requirement, the Aardvark team can design working hardware for you. And you can be confident that it will be delivered on time and, if required, to a fixed budget.

Please email info@aardvark.eu.com to discuss your needs.

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