ADX Electronics - contract design services, PCB design

ADX Electronics Limited - Consulting Services

Note for clients of ADX Electronics Limited

I AM GENERALLY UNAVAILABLE FOR CONTRACT WORK:

I have been working on an in-house product development since the start of 2009, with any spare time allocated towards limited support of existing clients. I will update this page should this situation change. Feel free to contact me anyway, but accept that I may be unavailable to reply in a timely fashion.

Rate increase to $100 per hour effective 2011:

You may notice I increased my 'casual' rate from $80 to $100 per hour beginning 2008 (the first increase since late 2004). This was done to help correct a lingering expectation that I am happy to take on any small / urgent job, often at historical rates of $40/hr or lower. It worked. My actual rate for longer term on-site day-job contracts, and PCB updates, has been $80/hr since late 2004. That now increases to $100/hr across the board. (This is just to keep up with inflation, specifically the increase in NZ average wage from 2005 to 2011).

I wish to reiterate my position as a "freelance worker" rather than a "contracting firm":

As a rule, I do not quote fixed price on development jobs. Some potential clients cannot fathom this at all, but it is quite normal in the electronics industry, because most clients value innovation over absolute predictability. My goal is to concentrate on day job type work for larger clients on larger projects, at their site, with small jobs limited to "packageable" short-term hourly-paid jobs like PCB design and design reviews. While I do exactly the same work as an up-market "consultant", please understand that my chargeout rate reflects a simpler situation where clients view me more as a "worker" than a "supplier".

Executive summary of services

PCB layout, design for manufacture
electronics hardware design
embedded software design
project management
EMC design and precompliance testing
ATE specification and design
mechanical prototyping and 2.5D CNC
low volume production (of my design output only)

Resources and facilities

I am the main engineering resource, and you can trust that I will do all hourly-paid design work myself. If I need to outsource any functions to complete your project, you will be kept you in the loop and won't be gouged on price.

I have electronics design offices and the usual equipment and software (PCs, scopes, dataloggers, tools, CAD and development software etc). For larger projects, working from your site amongst your team is often a more efficient development method.

We do prototype manufacturing (semi-manual SMT and dip solder - not lead free), and can produce in low volumes as necessary. However for production quantities I will refer you to one of the many excellent local contract manufacturers.

I have in-house mechanical prototyping facilities including 3-axis CNC router and mill, lathe, workshop etc. We can build jigs, fixtures, production automation equipment, and even do component fabrication to get the ball rolling with your project.

Specialist PCB design

My most in-demand skill is as a specialist PCB designer. PCB design is convenient to contract out because it has a clearly defined start and stop, and as a result has become a significant area of my expertise.

I specialise in applications involving high current, switchmode, precision analogue, EMC problems, lack of space, and unusual mechanical requirements. The benefit of having a highly qualified and experienced electronic designer work on your board is that it is likely to; work first time, exceed performance requirements, and go straight into production or preproduction. A secondary benefit is sanity checking of circuit design, and the ability to suggest components based on function rather than generic specs. A tertiary benefit is understanding real manufacturing processes, rather than relying on outdated industry guidelines.

I can work from solid models, photographs, and components on hand. I generally don't need physical hardware, for example I have successfully laid out boards for US-based designers.

Local, National, International

Most clients are local to Christchurch.

Beyond that, I can "telecommute" easily via the net. International clients can be treated essentially the same as national, however please be aware of the terms and conditions and differences in applicable laws.

Antony Dean.

Electronics Limited
Electronic Engineering Design

Antony Dean, 25/08/05

Electronics development services

Main skills:

Electronic design (precision analogue, power, switchmode, digital, EMC)
Embedded software (8051, PIC, AVR, ADI DSP, 80x86 assembler)
PCB layout (see below)
Design for manufacture and volume production
Full prototyping service including mechanical and procuring components
Test system development (manual, ATE)
EMC design, consultation, some precompliance testing (Anritsu spectrum analyser)
DSP algorithm design and simulation (filtering, control, multirate)
Mechanical design and prototyping (workshop with CNC router, mill, lathe)
Project management from start to finish

PCB Experience:

125 production boards between 1994 and 2005
100% success (all manufacturable, one close call)

CAD:

Protel DXP (and all earlier versions)

Technology:

Thru hole, SMT, single to multi layer, high power, design for EMC

Advantages:

Rapid development - nearly always right first time
Strong electronics design background
Ability to work with complex mechanical designs and 3D CAD data
Manufacturing details (panelisation, stencils, pick and place etc)
Component sourcing and specification
Can deal directly with suppliers
In house single and double layer prototyping incl NC route/drill (if stuck)

Qualifications:

BE Hons (Electrical and Electronic), ME (Electrical and Electronic), University of Canterbury.
11 years industry experience. Owner of export manufacturing business for 9 years.

Charge rate:

$80/hr depending on conditions and length of job. (Fixed price contracts generally unsuitable for development work.). Preference to work on customer site. All contracts strictly 7 day payment terms.

Contact details:
Antony Dean, ADX Electronics Limited
email: adean@adx.co.nz web: www.adx.co.nz
Phone +64 3 3518668, Fax +64 3 3518484, Mobile 027 4373486

Terms and conditions

I plan to expand this one day, but for now here are some "standard terms" that end up in most contracts (which are often just an emailed estimate which becomes a binding contract when accepted):

You are dealing with the company ADX Electronics Limited.
This is a flat hourly rate which applies to all hours spent productively.
Payment terms net 7 days.
All work is supplied on an as-is basis (no liability).
I will generally guarantee my work is competent and free of serious mistakes.
Ownership of and copyrights in all hourly-charged work is transferred to the client when full payment is received.
I undertake to keep your information confidential and will not divulge it to third parties.

Note these terms might not necessarily apply to your contract. New Zealand law applies.

1 March 2011