Altium > Case Studies > Omnisys Instruments: Managing Design Revisions and Component Lifecycles with Altium

Omnisys Instruments: Managing Design Revisions and Component Lifecycles with Altium

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Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Electronics
  • Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
  • Product Research & Development
  • Quality Assurance
Use Cases
  • Experimentation Automation
  • Inventory Management
Services
  • System Integration
  • Testing & Certification
About The Customer
Omnisys Instruments is a Swedish SME known for its excellence in the development and production of complex, high-performance hardware products for the space industry and other specialized scientific instrument applications, including ground-based antennas and radiometers. Since 1993, the company has been engaged in the sequential development of several major projects for Europe’s scientific and space industry, ranging from ultra-reliable satellite power supply units to autocorrelation spectrometers. These complex designs incorporate advanced analog, microwave, ASIC, and power electronics, demanding exceptional capabilities from both the Omnisys engineers and the design tools they use.
The Challenge
Omnisys Instruments, a Swedish SME specializing in the development and production of complex, high-performance hardware products for the space industry, faced significant challenges in managing design revisions and component lifecycles. The company was involved in the sequential development of several major projects for Europe’s scientific and space industry, which incorporated advanced analog, microwave, ASIC, and power electronics. The extreme conditions found beyond Earth’s atmosphere amplified the normal constraints of electronics design, necessitating careful component selection and rigorous testing of designs to ensure high reliability after deployment. It was crucial for Omnisys to ensure that only approved components were used and thoroughly prototyped and tested designs were released to manufacture.
The Solution
Omnisys has been using Altium products since its inception in 1993, starting with Protel and continuing to the latest version of Altium Designer. Recognizing the potential for managing components and releases, Omnisys became an early adopter of Altium’s Vault technology. The Vault ensures that every component placed on a board maintains its identity and origin, and that all releases are managed. This solution perfectly fit Omnisys' needs, providing greater confidence in knowing their design models each have a managed lifecycle. The “Where-used” feature of the Vault allowed Omnisys to easily monitor the use of item revisions, speeding up the overall design process and facilitating efficient and confident late changes. Managing the Vault proved to be smoother than separately managing a SVN and collection of DBLibs, even with a team of 20+ engineers.
Operational Impact
  • The adoption of Altium’s Vault technology has significantly improved the operational efficiency of Omnisys Instruments. The Vault's ability to thoroughly document and track all components has been crucial in meeting the mission-critical nature of Omnisys’ product development. The 'Where-used' feature has not only sped up the overall design process but also facilitated efficient and confident late changes. The pain of testing and deploying last-minute design changes has been greatly alleviated. Furthermore, Component Lifecycle Management in the Vault has provided the engineers at Omnisys the freedom and flexibility to design to their full creative potential, knowing that they are designing only with approved components. This has not only saved valuable design time but also ensured that the project stays under budget.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Greater confidence in design models due to managed lifecycle
  • Efficient monitoring of item revisions with the 'Where-used' feature
  • Smoother management of the Vault compared to separately managing a SVN and collection of DBLibs

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