Design Services
Steatite always prefer to utilise COTS hardware wherever possible, but, when a project demands it, we have the in-house capability to customise existing hardware or to design new hardware from the ground up
Our Capabilities
Full Enclosure
Our Engineering team can design ruggedised rack cabinets and operator consoles to meet demanding levels of shock, vibration, temperature and EMC.
Wherever possible, we will utilise modelling software to help test and validate our designs prior to moving to qualification or production, therefore reducing risk and hopefully saving time and money for our customers.
Military-Grade Computers
Steatite have been designing and manufacturing rugged military-grade computer systems for decades and are trusted suppliers to most prime contractors and many tier 1s.
We know what it takes to design a system to meet MIL STDs and DEF STANs for shock, vibration, temperature, EMC, and electrical safety, which means we avoid many of the gotchas that can derail a program.
We have designed dozens of different rackmount, touchscreen, and fanless computers over the years for use in a variety of military applications and have fostered very long-standing relationships with our customers in the process.
High-Speed Electronics
For more demanding or unusual requirements, where no COTS option is available, we have in-house high-speed electronics design capability.
This covers anything from COM Express / COM HPC carrier boards (custom motherboards that utilise pluggable modules for x86 processing), backplanes / mezzanines right through to custom interface cards.
Displays, HMIs & KVMs
As standalone devices, or to integrate with other computers or systems, Steatite have designed various monitors, panel PCs, and KVMs for use in military applications.
16:9, 16:10, 4:3, IP-rated, VGA, DVI, HDMI, DP, LVDS, high-brightness, with touch, without touch, impact resilient, EMI shielding, KVM switching, TEMPEST, MILSTD, DEF STAN, we’ve done it all.
Technical Publications
To help support the operator consoles and cabinets that we build, our in-house technical authors will write operator and maintenance manuals to describe the common tasks that will be carried out in the field, as well as including key safety information.
Human Factors
As Multifunction Operator Consoles have the potential to be used by personnel of various shapes and sizes, they need to be designed in such a way to ensure they offer a comfortable working environment to all users, while also fitting within the allocated space on the vessel.
Our Mechanical Engineers take these factors into account during the design process.
In-House Pre-Compliance Testing
To help validate our designs in the most efficient way, Steatite has invested in in-house EMC, shock, vibration, electrical safety, TEMPEST, and thermal test chambers.
We find that carrying out pre-compliance testing throughout the design phase significantly reduces the chance of issues occurring when we go out for formal qualification testing.
Engineering Controls
Once a design is complete and validated, we have strict controls in place to ensure that every system is built in exactly the same way.
This includes full traceability, from the time that a component arrives at Steatite, to the time that it leaves us as part of a complete system.
Additionally, each BOM or sub-assembly follows our standard revision control procedures, meaning that any potential changes are discussed with the customer beforehand and are then recorded in detail in our ECN database once approved.
Get in touch
Fill out the contact form and a member from our technical team will be in touch to discuss your specific requirements and see if we can offer a solution.