Development of software and hardware in Austria

We mainly develop hardware for parts of electronic assemblies or small series that are no longer available. If the hardware contains microcontrollers, we also programme the corresponding software. We develop and build everything in Rastenfeld, Austria.

When does hardware development make sense?

The development of hardware is very complex, time-consuming and expensive. It therefore only makes sense to develop something that does not yet exist, no longer exists or where many units are required. For example: If the supply of spare parts for older industrial systems has been discontinued and certain electronic assemblies have an irreparable defect. Here it can make sense to rebuild this assembly or to develop new hardware that can take over the function completely.

From the idea to the finished hardware product

In order to develop something successfully, a few steps must be taken. We will cover these in the following paragraph. We will use our self-developed electronic business card as an example.

1. conceptualisation of the product

The concept defines which functions must be fulfilled, which environmental controls are available and how expandable the hardware must be. This concept can be used to create a cost estimate so that you can calculate the profitability.

As an example, the concept for the "Mosertronik business card"

It should be possible to display different patterns with 10 LEDs. It should be powered by a 3V CR2016 battery. In idle mode, the current requirement should be as low as possible at <5µA so that the battery lasts a long time. In addition, only a few components should be used so that this circuit board can be assembled by our visitors themselves at the open day. Ambient conditions are room temperature (range from 10°C to 30°C). An extension of the circuit is not planned.

Cost estimate

The estimated costs are only to be seen as an example and would include development, assembly and programming. Please note that the prices are exclusive of VAT.

2. development of the circuit diagram

Once the concept stage is complete, the actual work can begin. When developing the circuit diagram, individual areas are simulated and built as a test on the breadboard. Depending on how complex the project is, the development of the circuit diagram can take days to weeks.

Example circuit diagram of the business card

To give you an idea of what a circuit diagram is, here is a simple circuit diagram for the electronic business card.

3. board layout creation

As soon as the circuit diagram is ready, the routing can begin. To do this, the entire footprints (the soldering area of the components) are transferred to a new page in the CAD software. These must then be arranged in such a way that no wires cross each other. Once the components have been arranged correctly, they can be connected to the cables.

For example, the finished CAD layout of the business card

On printed circuit boards, a distinction is always made between the top and bottom sides. Here you can see the visualised bottom side of the finished layout.