Other Products and Services
Our growing experience, gained from many years designing products and immersion in the electronics industry, allows us to assist our clients by providing a number of other specific services.
Please explore the links shown at the left to see what other services we offer.
Production Procurement
In addition to our designing services, we also facilitate the production of your final product. Whether for a design we have assisted you with, or for your own design, we use our external connections to tie together the manufacture of Printed Circuit Boards, population of the components (board stuffing), mechanical assembly, final testing and quality control. We manage the bill of materials for component optimization, cost reduction and availability of parts. At the end of all this we deliver to you a cost-competitive, high quality finished product.
Product Planning and Development
MARLEX offers a complete range of pre-production services, from vetting new product ideas to provisional patent writing. We have forged strategic alliances to provide us with manufacturing expertise in China and North America. We are also affiliated with mechanical design houses, power research laboratories, and marketing consultants to effectively span the gaps in independent product development.
Product Improvement and Peer Review of Designs
If you have completed a new design and would like it independently reviewed before committing to production, we can help. While you are protected by an NDA we will examine the integrity of your design and provide suggestions if required. In the process we will be acting as a reassuring “second set of eyes” to catch those small details that can so easily be overlooked.
If you already have a mature product there are many reasons to periodically have someone revisit the design. Changes in technology affect both components and manufacturing and what were the best choices when your product was first conceived may no longer be ideal. Worse, some of the older components you require may be getting harder to obtain from your suppliers, and might even become obsolete. Newer components and technologies could benefit your product with better performance, higher efficiency, lowered costs and parts that are more easily obtained. Also, new regulatory standards might be introduced in your target market, or perhaps your product has just been exhibiting some annoying glitches and bugs for too long. MARLEX Engineering Inc. can examine your existing design and either suggest improvements, or implement specific changes that you would like to see made.
Development of and Conversion to RoHS Compliant Products
The Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive addresses levels of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The directive came into effect on July 1, 2006 and it places bans and restrictions on the entry of new electrical and electronic equipment into the European Union based on the levels of hazardous substances it contains. This directive has created significant changes in the electronics industry and most large component manufacturers have switched to RoHS compliant products.
We can design your new product to be RoHS compliant, determine if your existing products are RoHS compliant and if necessary help you convert these products to use RoHS compliant parts.
Assistance Claiming SR&ED Investment Tax Credits
The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is a federal tax incentive program to encourage Canadian businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to conduct research and development (R&D) in Canada that will lead to new, improved, or technologically advanced products or processes.
MARLEX Engineering Inc. has gained significant experience in this area from submitting our own claims and from assisting our clients with their claims. We can help you claim credits for work you are currently doing or for work you have recently completed. We can show you where you qualify for these credits and use our experience to maximize your claim. We will also assist you with any technical audits that may be required.
Credits from the SR&ED program can significantly ease your development costs.
Feasibility Assessment
Do you have an idea for an invention, or maybe you are interested in investing in someone else's technology? We can lend our expertise to help you determine if the technology or idea is sound and provide you with an unbiased opinion.
Product Testing and Tracking
The MARLEX design process spans the period from the initial 'whiteboard' conceptualization through to final product testing. We assist our clients in the product certification, production setup and final product testing phases of a project. Our Automated Product Testing and Management System has been successfully implemented in ISO 9000/QS 9000 approved manufacturing facilities.
