Technical: Designing intelligent electronics for measurement and control
Our interpretation of technical experience is integrating different disciplines, in today’s complex systems, as an overall reliable working unit. In the figure below you can see our main areas of expertise colored.
In this fast developing technology world Van Mierlo Ingenieursbureau BV, finds it highly important not to forget the background physics in addition to being up-to-date in various signal systems (hardware and software) e.g. analogue and digital.
From our 25 years of experience in working with machines and processes, we have found out that in the end, the way the over all system works is greatly dependent on the internal physics which you have to find back in the development of the signal system components.
We are not afraid of technological challenges and regularly expand on our areas of expertise. Often the way we broaden our knowledge is by working closely together with our partners; some of which are our clients who already have the required expertise in house.
The advantage of this strategy is that we never apply the same technology twice, it always alters depending on what the clients wishes are and what the project is about. In this way we have arrived at outstanding results, some of which became common knowledge a few years later.
The other way we keep our knowledge and expertise up to date is through literature study. The knowledge we gain goes through the process of simulation and modeling – in this way we can identify new techniques for ourselves. Next step is to apply our findings in the internal projects. Only when we are satisfied with the internal results will the next step be taken “the self newly defined techniques” in external projects. This method is mostly suitable in the more generic areas of measurement and control as “communication“, “processing“, “power“ and “PC control“.
In the area of “communication” we developed our own fast data paths based on a USB or Ethernet interface. We have used this in several projects by integrating either with a customizable mixed signal design, which in return turned out to shrink the duration of many projects significantly.
Ever since the beginning of Van Mierlo Ingenieursbureau BV in 1987, we have seen that our projects are related to one or more of the following areas:
The final results may be integrated in many different systems, from a few cm3 (e.g. an optical angle encoder) to a few m3 (e.g. additive manufacturing machine). Sometimes, clients leave their devices with us for further development including electrical assembly and fine-tuning of the whole system.
Organizational: long-term partnership
It is important for us to do more than one project with our client. In this way we allow the relationship to grow, where it can reach the point where working and developing together is nothing less but pleasure. Projects we chose could vary from less than one thousand euros (mostly backorders) to several hundreds of thousands for a complete development project. When working together with our clients, we often help to specify the system, set-up the system’s architecture and manage the development process. We do this incrementally by stating measurable milestones, followed by integrating the client’s interpretation of the system’s set up. Our satisfaction comes from delivering reliable final products which meet the client’s requirements.
Of course this is established in the form of a quotation and, after agreement from both sides, the work on the project begins and the end result is delivered as mentioned above. In this way the cost and the duration of the project is measurable and kept under control.
In some cases development does not always go according to plan. In such situations we are always trying to work towards solutions together with our client. That’s part of investing in a relationship, often leading to having an even stronger long-term bond.
We are one of the co-founders of the Devlab, ca. 2004. The aim was for a number of SME companies (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) to do research together, giving us the strength to achieve better results than each of us could do individually.
After more than 10 years the majority of the co-founders are still active within Devlab. This time has given us the opportunity to learn how to cooperatively do research, undertake national and international projects and demonstrate results.
Continuity: profit
Van Mierlo Ingenieursbureau is interested in growth as a team internally and also externally with partners. Through the years this has been paid back in trust we gained from our clients, as well as in the increasing number of projects in size and in technical depth. The technical knowledge we have and our organizational skills are the real key for our stability. We have shown that in the recent crisis period we were able to survive without the need of any external financing.
With one of the Devlab results, called MyriaNed, we have proven the ability to realize our own products. This gives us the opportunity to bring it to market, independently or as a part of Devlab, and use it in a new sort of projects, e.g. the Cyber Physical Systems
In the picture above you can see an example of a commercial, MyriaNed based project we have already carried out. Sharing our knowledge with the community, we were surprised by the variation of applications they requested, where they see a potential use for MyriaNed modules.
If you like the direction our company is heading, don’t be afraid to get in touch with us.
