Design
SUCCESS FACTOR PRODUCT DESIGN
Global competition, innovative product ideas, creative product design and increasingly demanding customers represent a major challenge in all industries.
Successful products convince not only through technical excellence, but above all through aesthetics and superior usability in use. Good product design not only gives a product a special shape but also lends it a quality and brand image. An anonymous product becomes something unique.
However, product design does not only refer to the purely aesthetic aspect of a product but is an important part of a holistic product concept based on an intelligent implementation of the required functionalities, materials and usability.
Interelektronix understands product design as an integrative process that bundles all areas from product conception, formative product design and development of an intuitive user interface, technical conception including material selection through to the manufacturing processes for an innovative product.
Interelektronix specializes in the application-specific development of high-quality and technically sophisticated touch displays, industrial touchscreens and industrial PCs and has many years of experience in the design and manufacture of ready-to-install resistive and capacitive touch systems.
The starting point for many developments is often a creative brainstorming process that not only results in technically innovative products, but also produces touch systems that merge into a unique product through the choice of materials, the product design and their customized user interface.
Interelektronix combines innovative technology and market-driven product design, idea and strategy, innovation and creativity into a convincing whole and offers sophisticated and individually designed system solutions.
With this special range of services, Interelektronix is an ideal partner for innovative start-ups and companies at the beginning of product development who are looking for a high-performance partner with a high level of expertise in the development and manufacture of touch systems and who can also develop innovative product design and ergonomically perfect user interfaces.
ALWAYS A NOSE AHEAD
Integrative product design is a holistic strategy that defines a functional and technological concept based on the requirements analysis, from which the product design and the design of the user interface are derived. Furthermore, materials and design are not only determined by their functional use but also by aesthetic criteria and marketing strategies.
For Interelectronix, integrative product design also means developing products according to economic criteria and using innovative and cost-oriented manufacturing processes.
The integrative product design concept pursued by Interelectronix thus leads to a broad spectrum of competitive advantages in which innovation, functionality, efficiency, economy as well as production costs and marketing aspects are realized for the benefit of the client.
Successful product design is technically not a measurable purchasing factor, but from an economic point of view it is decisive for sales on the market. Product design as a strategy is therefore an important marketing instrument in global competition.
Image - product & brand
In an increasingly global market with new suppliers, the brand image of a product is becoming an increasingly important factor in purchasing decisions. This applies equally to an industrial market and a consumer market. A consistently applied product design strategy leads to a high recognition value of both product and brand and influences the purchase decision. Product design should therefore be part of the corporate identity and marketing tool of a progressive company.
Quality - the message of the product
With the rapid increase in the technical design of many products, quality assessment is becoming increasingly difficult for many buyers. This makes it all the more important for a product to “radiate” quality through a convincing product design.
Usability - the product in context
Many manufacturers pay too little attention to the ease of use of devices. The focus is often on numerous technical features, which in many cases are not even remotely used by the user because their activation is not intuitive. The innovative and intuitive operating concepts from Interelectronix, on the other hand, lead to noticeable competitive advantages and clear product superiority.
Economy - the product in series
For Interelektronix, product design is not just about shape and aesthetics, but also about coordinating shapes, materials and manufacturing processes in such a way that production is resource-efficient and economical.
Design and function-oriented materials, cost-optimized production processes, minimized material and energy consumption, consideration of DIN standards, set-up costs and minimization of material diversity and expenditure are important goals of the product conception offered by Interelectronix.
Innovations - ideas for the future
Those who stop innovating will not survive in the market. Stagnation within a constantly changing system means the end. Many well-known companies have been and will be affected by this. Forward-looking product ideas, innovative materials and technically sophisticated system solutions are one of the many strengths of Interelectronix.
Aesthetics - the poetry in the product
Too little attention is paid to design and attractive surface materials that give a product that “special something”. For a large number of industrial products, the focus is predominantly on functionality and technical features. However, an attractive design, an intuitive user interface and function-oriented technology are not mutually exclusive, but are combined by Interelectronix to create a special product. The result is that quality and brand image are communicated through a modern product design.
SPECTRUM
The product design pursued by Interelectronix in the narrower sense refers to intelligent operating concepts, modern housing design and efficient installation concepts.
The aim is to develop innovative system solutions, to implement rapid product development and to achieve cost-effective production.
Intelligent operating concepts
For a user, the user interface is the most important communication interface for operating a device.
If a user interface is intuitive and appealing, a device is considered to be of high technical quality.
If, on the other hand, the user interface is difficult to understand and the sequence of operating steps is prone to errors, a device is very quickly perceived as technically inferior. The same applies if a user interface is overloaded with controls or the response time of an input is unsuitable for the application.
Many users unconsciously equate the ergonomics of a user interface with the technical quality of a product. The user interface and usability are therefore one of the most important success factors of a product. It is therefore all the more surprising that too few companies pay the necessary attention to this important point.
Interelectronix specializes in modern and intuitive operating concepts and regards innovations in this area as the driving force behind the long-term success of a touch system on the market.
Individual operating concepts
Operating concepts are heavily dependent on the touch technology used (capacitive or resistive), the operating requirements, the sequence of inputs to be made, the input speed, the reaction time and susceptibility to errors of a touch system as well as the operating and environmental conditions on site.
The variety of influencing factors shows that an intelligent operating concept is not only based on a visually well-designed user interface, but that numerous criteria determine whether a user interface is perceived as ergonomically pleasant and the operability as intuitive.
Every operating concept is only as good as the previously defined criteria and framework conditions. Clearly formulated requirements lead to the right solutions. Interelectronix achieves this in two steps through a requirements analysis and a functional specification.
Requirements analysis
The operating concept is described in detail and in the form of a standard-compliant benefit requirement for the system environments and system requirements. The mandatory and optional requirements are recorded separately and analyzed and specified with regard to technical feasibility.
Functional specification
The functional scope for the operating concept is now precisely defined and refined to such an extent that all specifications, actions and interfaces are described. Particular attention is paid to the system functions to be triggered and the associated input sequence, response time and the resulting ergonomics.
Both processes ultimately lead to the system architecture of the operating concept with all functions and input sequences. Ergonomics and intuitive usability are checked in a test procedure and the usability is optimized based on the results.
Software-based UI development
Projected capacitive touch technology offers excellent opportunities for implementing innovative and intuitive operating concepts. Depending on the touch recognition (multi touch or dual touch), Interelectronix designs sophisticated and intuitive operating concepts with appealing user interfaces that are optimally aligned to the application and the target market.
Interelectronix focuses on user interface concepts that are completely software-based. Thanks to the in-house software development department, operating concepts can not only be created and implemented very quickly, but can also be optimally optimized for the hardware to be used.
Another advantage of the user interfaces created by Interelectronix is that they can be updated in the future by means of software updates, ensuring that the devices are always up to date with the latest software technology.
That special something
Operating concepts and user interfaces are not only used for the purely functional operation of a touch system, but should also be intuitive and easy to use.
Increasingly, user interfaces also have the task of communicating a brand or quality image, because successful products are not only convincing through technical excellence, but often also through emotions. And hardly any other element lends itself better to this than the control element.
Interelectronix specializes in developing innovative operating concepts that generate a high level of operating convenience for the user and significant added value for the supplier.
The majority of the operating concepts designed by Interelectronix are completely software-based and open up a completely new spectrum of special effects and operating options that not only make the operation of touch systems particularly intuitive but also turn them into a small experience.
For POS applications, there are additional options that make the screen brighter when a user approaches the touch system or functions that regulate the monitor lighting depending on the ambient light.
An extended area of application for the software-based operating concepts from Interelectronix is the optimal design of difficult, consecutive input processes in which a user can unknowingly make input or operating errors. In such applications, the operating concept has the important task of mapping a logical input and sequence system that guides the user intuitively and, in the event of incorrect entries, recognizes them and offers appropriate correction options.
An intelligent operating concept is much more than just an appealing user interface. Behind an operating concept from Interelectronix are a variety of considerations that you may not recognize at first glance, but which can be very important, even decisive, for the optimal operation of a touch system.
HOUSING ENGINEERING
Interelectronix is strong in enclosure development, from design draft to concept and detail engineering. Following the objective of developing plug & play ready-to-use touch systems and industrial PCs, we also support our clients in the development of enclosures that are optimized for the application and future environmental conditions.
This includes the research of suitable materials and manufacturing processes, the development of conceptual solution proposals, the evaluation of costs and process suitability as well as the construction in modern 3D CAD programs up to the creation of design drawings and finally the testing of functional models.
The aim of Interelectrtonix's product design is to develop a touch system that is optimally coordinated in all details, functionalities and design and that not only meets high quality standards according to technical criteria but also according to aesthetic requirements.
In numerous projects accompanied by Interelectronix, it was found that too little attention was paid to the inner housing of a touch system. Economic criteria were primarily at the center of material selection and design.
However, inner housings have important functional tasks on the one hand, but also have an effect on the product and brand image through their appearance and technical implementation.
Functional properties
Suitable materials
The choice of enclosure materials is relevant to the service life, failure rate and appearance of an overall system. Interelectronix always determines the materials with specific consideration of the application environment of a touch system and the expected loads
Connections & interfaces
The correct formal integration of the connections into the housing and the suitable position of connections and interfaces is an important criterion with regard to susceptibility to faults during operation, as well as the fast and safe installation and replacement of devices.
Ventilation
The functional ventilation of touch systems is often overlooked, but is an extremely important technical requirement. On the one hand, this concerns a type of ventilation adapted to the touch system and, on the other, the position of the ventilation on the housing, taking into account the air exchange in the overall system.
Installation
The device housing, e.g. of an industrial monitor, should be perfectly designed so that it fits perfectly into the housing of the overall system and the anchoring, support and screw points must be suitably designed so that a device can be installed and removed quickly and easily. At the same time, the device housing should be perfectly sealed with the system housing in accordance with the specific application in order to reliably keep out environmental influences such as dust or moisture.
Watertightness
Waterproof housings are a special feature of housing development. These pose a particular challenge. Depending on the IP protection class, different requirements are placed on the enclosure development and specific solutions and materials are used.
Material selection
It is not the cheapest material that should be selected, but the material that is most suitable for the application. Interelectronix has decades of material know-how and always suggests enclosure materials from the point of view of the specific application, the interaction with the overall system, an aesthetic appearance and the expected environmental influences. Design and materials are therefore selected specifically for the planned area of application.
Product and brand image
Product and brand image is not only achieved through advertising and glossy brochures, but also through the product itself. Design and styling as well as appealing materials and high-quality surface treatments are increasingly decisive for a product's image and success on the market.
Overall product design is becoming more and more important for the product image and for purchasing decisions. A brand can only operate successfully if aesthetics, function, innovation and cost-effectiveness are in harmony.
Following this premise, Interelektronix develops device concepts for touch systems that are not limited to functionality and technical specifications, but also explicitly take aesthetic design and appealing materials into account. This claim is implemented both for the areas visible to the user and for the inner housing.
3 D design
Attractive product design is not limited to external aesthetics. It is the result of a creative process that takes into account not only the technical functions and ergonomic handling, but also the manufacturing costs and brand image of a product.
Interelectronix produces special enclosures in small and medium-sized series precisely according to these criteria, creating a targeted impact and positive cost effects.
But what good is the most beautiful enclosure design if it cannot be realized? Unfortunately, very serious mistakes are often made when implementing an externally provided design draft. The particular strength of Interelektronix lies in the fast and competent implementation of design constructions that can be used as a direct basis for rapid prototyping processes.
The 3D design of sheet metal parts poses a particular challenge. The actual challenge begins with the product design, as you normally have to make do with flat blanks and bending radii.
However, sheet metal housings for touch systems are rarely manufactured in large quantities, which has an impact on the design, as certain designs can only be implemented economically in large quantities. This has to be taken into account at the design stage.
Interelektronix realizes sophisticated designs! This is due to years of experience in the development and construction of plug & play touch systems.
