Services

MICRODESIGNS, Inc. is an engineering and manufacturing services company specializing in microcomputer and electronic systems. The company was founded in May, 1980 and has provided products and services to major U.S. corporations such as GE Energy, GE Aircraft, Heatcraft Refrigeration Products, Rexam, Mead Packaging and the Tennessee Valley Authority and to a number of smaller companies as well.

In addition to our domestic customers, MICRODESIGNS has also provided services and exported equipment to major international firms such as Panasonic Industrial (UK), Thales Navigation (France), Siemens (Germany),  VSMPO-AVISMA (Russia) and to government entities and smaller companies in Chile, Italy, Israel, Korea, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey.

We have participated in the design and development of numerous products for our customers, ranging from a small specialized thermal printer and interface board set to refrigeration controls, process control systems, stand-alone image processing systems and eddy current and ultrasonic instruments. Many of these products contain microprocessors for which MICRODESIGNS has designed hardware and/or written operating or diagnostic software. We have designed both board- and box-level products that have required packaging and mechanical skills in addition to electronics. We have also manufactured products under contract, providing parts procurement, assembly and full testing services. Manufacturing quantities have ranged from as few as one to more than 800.

Other services performed include specifying, designing, writing and integrating software for numerous industrial automation projects using microcomputers. Examples of those systems include piece part inspection for quality control, data acquisition with instrument and material handling system control in a laboratory environment and chemical process monitoring with fluid flow control.

The following sections briefly outline the design, development and production services MICRODESIGNS provides along with information about our personnel, equipment and facilities. Should you have any questions regarding MICRODESIGNS' capabilities, please do not hesitate to contact us.

• Digital electronics (including Altera programmable logic)
• Analog and RF electronics
• Microcomputer or microcontroller board- or box-level product
• Embedded systems
• Upgrading/enhancing existing equipment using modern technology
• Component/system evaluation, specification, interfacing
• Consulting and hardware/software evaluation

• Standard or custom interfaces

• Assembled printed-circuit prototypes
• Full development documentation (available in PDF format):
  • Schematics
  • Parts lists
  • Assembly drawings
  • Fabrication drawings
  • Operation and maintenance manuals
  • User's manuals
• Drafting and printed circuit board layout from single-sided to multi-layer
• Working relationship with talented mechanical designers

• Disciplined software engineering approach: specification, design, code & test, as-built design, fully commented listings
• Analytical/application
• Consulting and instruction
• Communications
• Drivers for hardware/software interfacing
• General-purpose utilities Instrument/system test
• Machine or process control
• Self-test with error handling
• Algorithm design and implementation
• Maintenance: analysis and correction, enhancements and upgrades
• Software for personal computers, microcomputers and microcontrollers
• Languages and CPU families:
  • Microchip PIC: Hi-Tech PIC-C and PIC-C18, MPLAB-C17, MPLAB-C18, MPASM
  • Atmel AVR: HPInfoTech CodeVisionAVR C and assembler
  • MSP430: IAR C and assembler
  • ST7: Cosmic C
    
  • x86 (and PC): Visual Basic (Visual Studio), LabView, PL/M-86, ASM-86, QuickBASIC
  • x80: PL/M-80, ASM-80
  • x51: PL/M-51, ASM-51
  • ST62: AST6 (assembler)
  • 68HC11: ASM11 (assembler)

• Product/system development
• Software
• System design

• Printed circuit boards
• Cable assemblies
• Packaged systems
• Quantities from 1 to 100s
• Fast turnaround available
• Testing: complete first test, elevated temperature burn-in, final test with full test documentation available

• Three engineers, all Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Co-operative Plan, Georgia Institute of Technology with more than 50 years of combined hardware and microprocessor software design experience
• One Buyer/QC Inspector/Assembler
• One Electrical Engineering co-operative student
• One Administrative Assistant
• One Assembler

• Fifteen-plus Pentium, Athelon, Celeron and Duron personal and notebook computers running a mixture of Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 operating systems
• Three Microchip MPLAB-ICE 2000 real-time emulators and various pods to support PIC microcontrollers
• Microchip ICD-2 in-circuit debugger
• Microchip PRO MATE II production programmer
• Four PICSTART Plus development programmers
• Needham EMP-20 programmer for EPROM, PLD and microcontroller support
• ALL-11 universal programmer for EPROM, EEPROM, bipolar PROM, PAL and Altera CPLD support
• Digelec 824 PROM Programmer to support 2716 to 271024 EPROMs and single-chip microcontrollers
• Digelec UniPort Programmer to support PLD devices
• Nohau microprocessor emulator to support 8051-family CPUs
• Microcosm microprocessor emulator to support 8086/88 and 80186/88 CPUs
• Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 350C color inkjet plotter for A- through D-size drawings

• Editors, assemblers and compilers: MPLAB with MPASM, MPLAB-C17, MPLAB-C18 and Hi-Tech PIC-C and PIC-C18 to support PIC microcontrollers; HPInfoTech CodeVisionAVR C and assembler to support Atmel AVR microcontrollers; IAR C and assembler to support TI MSP430 microcontrollers; Cosmic C to support ST7 microcontrollers; Visual Basic (Visual Studio) and LabView for Windows environments; Intel AEDIT editor, Intel ASM assembler and PL/M compiler for 8080/8085, 8086/8088/80186/80188  and 8051-family CPUs; Quick Basic in MS-DOS and Windows environments; AST6 to support ST62 microcontrollers; ASM11 to support 68HC11 microcontrollers
• Schematic capture CAD: SCHEMA III+ for MS-DOS
• PAL, CPLD and gate array design: Altera MAX+plusII and PALasm
• Mechanical design/layout CAD: Autocad 2000 and Autocad Release 10 and 12
• Printed-circuit board CAD: PADS-PowerPCB, PADS-PCB for MS-DOS and Windows
• Word processing: Microsoft Word
• Data Analysis: Microsoft Excel, Mathcad
• Database: dBase dialects for MS-DOS

• Oscilloscopes: Tektronix TDS524A 500 MHz (digital), 2465BDV 400 MHz (analog), TDS224 100 MHz (digital), 465B 100 MHz (analog); HP 54645D and Agilent 54622D 100 MHz mixed-signal (digital)
• True RMS Multimeters: (3) HP/Agilent 34401A
• True RMS RF Voltmeter: HP 3403C
• Logic Analyzer: HP 1630D
• Protocol Analyzer with RS-232C and RS-422A/RS-449 pods: HP 4951A 
• Counters: (2) HP 53131A 225 MHz, HP 5316A Universal, Opto-Electronics 600 MHz
• Signal Generators: Hameg HM8001/HM8037 Low-Distortion Sine, HP 8116A Pulse/Function, Wavetek 23 Function, (2) Wavetek 801 Pulse, HP 8505A Sine/Sweep
• Electronic Load: Kikusui PLZ153W
• Distortion Analyzer: Hameg HM8001/HM8027
• RF Network Analyzer: HP 8505A
• So-Low PR50-9 low temperature chamber (9 cu. ft., 0 to -40 °C)
• Various attenuators, calibrators, meters and power supplies

• Electrovert Minipak 300 12" wave soldering system
• EPE DSS-2000 displacement soldering system with foam fluxer
• Two Molex TM40 terminal applicators with various dies
• Ideal Wire Prepper System II automatic wire cutter
• Two Electrovert Electroprep lead forming and cutting machines with various dies
• Schleuniger US2015 wire stripper
• Chipmaster SMD-1000 SMT work station
• Various connector and terminal hand tools from AMP, Astro, Berg, Daniels, Malco and Molex 
• Weller soldering stations, Pace de-soldering stations, wire-wrap guns, IDC cable press and other assembly equipment
• Miscellaneous assembly fixtures, including two slide lines and 3 board assembly fixtures
• Burn-in box (45 cubic ft., 25 to 50 °C)

• 8,000 sq. ft. of office, development lab, assembly area and warehouse in our own free-standing building
• Extensive in-house product and component literature library containing data books from 1974 to the present

• Technical resources of Georgia Tech, its professors and its library 20 minutes away
• Numerous PC board vendors, both small volume fast-turnaround and large volume
• Skilled local machinists and sheet-metal fabricators

• Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport provides excellent transportation for people and goods, including international destinations
• Many major electronics distributors, manufacturer's representatives, regional offices and technical support offices in the Atlanta area
• Excellent credit rating and banking relationship
• Excellent distributor relationships