Prototype Fabrication: Bringing Vision to Fruition

With great advances in LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology over the years, the opportunities are increasing for companies to design and implement LED-based lighting products. These products utilize the inherent energy savings and environmentally friendly characteristics of LEDs. The common business goal is to develop LED lighting products that fit specific market applications and can compete favorably with the competition in appearance, efficacy (lumen per watt,) as well as price. Product design and development begins with the collective input of Marketing, R&D and Engineering, with the eventual aim of creating a fully functional and testable prototype.
 

Prototyping is always a critical phase in product development. It amounts to taking your best theoretical concepts and engineering them into existence, with the help of a quality manufacturer. A company that excels at providing timely and accurate LED light engine prototypes must shine in the following areas:

• Understand the customer requirements and needs, even before they do
• Create multiple, innovative solutions to achieve the desired results
• Master capabilities in all aspects of LED lighting
• Thermal management
• Optics
• Controls
• Drivers
• Chip-on-Board (COB)
• Gold wire bonding
• Surface-mount technology (SMT)
• Printed circuit board (PCB) layout
• Screen/stencil printing
• Exhibit flexibility with design changes
• Demonstrate quick-turn capabilities
• Produce high-quality, accurate first yield assemblies
• Maintain close communications between the customer and the prototyping engineering group
• Facilitate seamless transitions between manual and automated processes
• Sustain electrostatic discharge (ESD) control

The ultimate goal is to get the prototype back to the customer quickly for evaluation. Customers take this opportunity to align initial calculations/expectations with real-world results. This is the time to verify form, fit and function of the finished product, or suggest a possible change moving forward.
 

With an ever-evolving technology like LEDs, it is business critical that companies get their LED lighting designs developed, built, tested, refined and launched in a timely manner. Product lifecycles are short with LED-based lighting fixtures, and the competition will take your share of the market if you’re not nimble. Fast and accurate prototyping is a critical phase your company needs to master to beat your competition to the punch.

 

Contact Norlux today for a consultation on your next LED lighting project, and we’ll start bringing your unique vision to fruition today.

Industrial Applications Embrace LED Technology

The usage of energy efficient LEDs in large-scale industrial lighting applications is becoming more critical than ever. Factories, warehouses, manufacturing plants and workshops all require a very large volume of light to properly illuminate operations, and as a result have created huge costs for businesses utilizing outdated lighting technologies of the past. Commercial grade LED industrial lighting is designed to replace existing mercury, sodium and metal halide lamp fixtures of much higher wattages, and therefore save money, energy and by extension: the environment. Thanks to advancements in semiconductors, optics and materials, LED lighting has excellent applications in industrial environments.

Below, Steve Henry (greenmanufacturer.net; 11/2011) gives us an overview of features that illustrate why LED technology is suitable for nearly any industrial lighting application. 

• Energy-efficient. The main driver for LED adoption is energy efficiency. Achieving the lighting levels required for a particular application at the lowest possible energy input becomes critical as energy costs rise and as government regulations clamp down on wasteful energy sources.
• Long-living. Correctly designed, LED fixtures offer up to 60,000 hours of illumination, with no "droop," or color shifts, and no penalty for frequent on/off cycles.  LEDs' longer lifespan than most other lighting sources' means less material is disposed over time.
• Low-maintenance. Because it is rugged and long-running, LED lighting requires very little maintenance. When LED lighting is used in a fixture with an intelligent modular design, even end-of-life replacement of components becomes quick and simple.
• Resistant to Shock, Vibration, Corrosion. LEDs can be used in environments where other technologies fail—prematurely or catastrophically.
• Cold Start-Capable. LEDs provide instant on and instant restrike capabilities to -40 degrees C, with no warm-up time required to achieve full brightness.
• Non-damaging. LEDs do not produce ultraviolet or infrared radiation often emitted by other lighting sources. This lowers cooling costs, simplifies maintenance, prolongs product life, protects eyes and sensitive equipment, and provides a margin of safety in hazardous environments.
• Safe for Hazardous Locations. Available LED luminaires are rated for use in areas where flammable gases and vapors are present under conditions defined by NEC Class I, Division 2 and IEC Zone 2.
• Easily Positionable. LED lighting often is the best choice for areas with low clearance, severe weather conditions, excessive moisture or dust, corrosive atmospheres, and high ambient temperatures.
• Nontoxic. LED lighting is also the only non-incandescent lighting source that contains no mercury. This eliminates any chance for mercury to escape into the environment either in operation or after disposal, therefore special handling is not required. Lights with lead-free solder ensure no toxins leak out when components finally reach end-of-life.
• White and Bright. Today's industrial LED luminaires provide high-quality white light that eases eye strain.
• Highly Directional. LED luminaires can be configured to produce nearly any horizontal and vertical distribution of light—from illuminating a tall, narrow fence line for security purposes to area lighting that allows production crews to work efficiently and safely.

LED industrial lighting is here today, and it's here to stay. The benefits it provides simply cannot be ignored. Even local and national governments are taking notice of LEDs as they focus on the problems of energy consumption, greenhouse gases, pollutants, and toxic waste.  LEDs are Green, and most important green feature of LEDs are their energy efficiency. LEDs have the smallest environmental footprint of any manufactured source. Because a large percentage of electricity in the U.S. is produced by burning fossil fuels, switching to LED lighting also is likely to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants. In addition, LEDs are mercury-free.

 

For all of the advantages of LED based illumination, it's easy to see why the industrial market space is embracing LED technology now and will continue to switch-over well into the future.  Contact Norlux today for a consultation on your LED lighting project.

Reference: 

"Shedding light on LED for industry: LED primed to replace metal halide, mercury vapor".By Steve Henry; October 12, 2011; Green Manufacturer http://www.greenmanufacturer.net/article/facilities/shedding-light-on-led-for-industry