Concept Development


Industrial Design Coordination – While industrial design is not one of our core competencies, Level 3 Systems LLC has an excellent working relationship with a number of companies that specialize in things from corporate branding to human interface design. We can help coordinate the interface with a chosen ID company or provide an introduction to the appropriate design partner so that the customer can work directly with the designers in developing the overall “look and feel” of the product from early in the design process.

Thermal Simulations – One of the most critical and often overlooked challenges in product development is the thermal management of modern, high-power components. Developing a system cooling plan early in the development cycle is critical to insuring product reliability and safety. Planning for the incorporation of necessary cooling components and features also helps to make sure that the overall appearance of the product is appropriately addressed from all aspects.

Signal Integrity Analysis – Many of today’s high-speed systems require additional planning to insure the integrity of the data as it is passed through multiple packages, boards, and connector interfaces. SPICE-based simulations are still the most effective and instrumental prediction methods for selecting connectors, board impedances, termination schemes and values, etc. Level 3 Systems LLC approaches this aspect of development from a risk-management standpoint: if experimental data is available (it’s been done before), simulations are not required. However, for system architectures that stretch the intent of the logic or signal family, simulations can be critical tools to avoid design iterations due to crosstalk, reflections, signal loss, or other potential SI issues.

Proof of Concept Development – For more complex systems, there are often questions about the feasibility of concepts, ideas, or system building blocks. Proof of concept vehicles may be required to prove out the desired functionality or interaction between different modules, or to eliminate potential risk. During the planning stage of the development cycle, the need for these vehicles can be determined and inserted into the overall development schedule.