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Car engine heater module redesign

Automotive E-mobility Lighting

Improving an essential accessory for cold winter months

Scandinavian winters are long and cold, and it is therefore essential to have car engine heater facilities widely available, to pre-heat the car’s engine to prevent excessive fuel use, ensure engine longevity as well as vastly improve passengers’ comfort.

Contracted by a renowned Scandinavian client, Strip’s has been manufacturing car engine heater control modules based on the client’s specification. Eventually, however, the module has become increasingly challenging to manufacture, due to the limited component availability as key components were being phased out by their manufacturers.

Already during the original module production Strip’s has identified and proposed a number of possible product enhancements and optimisations. This encouraged the client to entrust the complete redesign and upgrade effort to Strip’s, transitioning from a pure EMS service to a broader R&D cooperation effort.

Improvements

The new module version that Strip’s fully developed in-house delivers a number of improvements compared to its predecessor:

• Modular design, enabling efficient support for multiple use cases (residential and commercial application scenarios), while still retaining familiar and straightforward installation procedure.
• A slew of new features, including Wi-Fi connectivity and a smartphone app (iOS and Android) for heater control and monitoring.
• Improved heater control enables more efficient use, optimising energy consumption.

Key client benefits:

• One-stop shop with a broad competency range: Strip’s provided a complete solution development service, including hardware and software design, development, and subsequent readying the product for production, including relevant certification.
• Rapid design & high degree of flexibility – the mobile app requirement was added later on, when the project was already in motion.
• Availability of a number of new, customer-focused product enhancements while retaining the same cost level.
• Future-proof design, allowing greater flexibility in future product enhancements and revisions.
• Full product traceability at the individual component level.

Timeline:

• Product was designed and developed in 6 months, on time and on budget.
• Production readiness was achieved in 3 months, including development of a product-specific machine vision production quality assurance system.