CONTRACT WIRING & ASSEMBLY

In addition to manufacturing our own line of instrumentation, Encore's production

department is available to manufacture our customers' designs. Usually the job
consists of mechanical assembly and wiring of customer-provided components,
following the customer's wirelist or schematic.

If mechanical design problems are encountered during production, our in-house metal shop can modify parts as needed for a proper fit. Encore's engineering department can also offer design assistance.

Typically work is done at our Saratoga
location. We are also able to work at your site
to install new enclosures and control systems.
For example, Encore has performed upgrades
to computerized machine controls at the Watervliet Arsenal, and wired control room instrumentation cabinets at General Electric sites.

Our production services are not limited to electrical components.
A recent project involved assembling a high-pressure air/gas test panel, using
custom-bent 1/4" and 3/8" stainless steel tubing, along with computerized electrical controls. The panel's overall size is 4 feet by 5 feet, and weighs over 150 pounds
when fully assembled. 

For this job, Encore designed a special wheeled support frame to help build the
panel, so either side can be turned face-up for ease of assembly and testing.
Facilities include an overhead cable winch to assist with crating the panels, and
an electric fork truck for loading and unloading interstate delivery trucks. Encore
can also assemble and wire full-sized rackmount enclosures with your supplied equipment or to a written specification. In the photo near right,
the cabinet contains an industrial duty Pentium-class computer with 17" monitor, color inkjet printer, and front-accessible Ethernet switch and power strip. Accessories and documentation are stored in the drawer, which also
has a flat writing surface on top. The plexiglass front door is covered with
a protective brown paper.

In the photo far right above, the cabinet is wrapped and secured to a shipping pallet
ready for transport to its final destination in Japan.

A more typical cabinet wiring job would be the 2' x 3' wall-mount enclosure with a
swing-out interior panel below. The customer provided a schematic and the cabinet
with all components pre-mounted and ready to wire. With advance notice and proper scheduling, wiring of this cabinet was completed in one day.

      
Front panel and interior views of the completed cabinet

CUSTOM ENGINEERING

Encore designs most of its equipment to specific customer requests. Whenever possible, products are made general-
purpose enough to be added to our general instrumentation catalog. However, Encore's ability to quickly produce one or
two of a completely custom instrument is a great asset to our customers.

With our in-house engineering, circuit board layout, metal fabrication and paint shop, and production department, a
complete design can be taken from concept to completion
in as little as one week.

As an example, a customer called on a Friday afternoon: he needed a vibration monitor tuned to a specific frequency, with

a latched alarm relay output if the vibration exceeded an

adjustable threshold,plus a continuous display of actual vibration level. Proposed package drawings prepared in AutoCAD were faxed to him for approval the following Monday, as the printed circuit design was beginning. A two-channel benchtop case

was designed and released to the metal shop; the PC board was ordered from a

next-day turnaround fabricator; production pulled the required components from

stock. By that Friday, one week later, the customer came up to our office to pick up

his first production units.

 

SMALL QUANTITY PROJECTS

Encore also offers assembly services for small-run production. We can populate PC boards with your supplied components or purchase items as needed from your bill of materials.

Our wave-soldering station assures consistent solder finish from board to board. We make our own power transformers (photo above right) for special design power supplies.

Encore's test department can electrically test and calibrate the finished product with
your test procedure, including high voltage insulation testing for cable assemblies.