Revamping Precision Agriculture: Leica Geosystems' Journey with Altium Designer
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
- Processors & Edge Intelligence - Microcontrollers & Printed Circuit Boards
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
- Electronics
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Agriculture Disease & Pest Management
- Time Sensitive Networking
Services
- Hardware Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
Leica Geosystems is a company that specializes in precision farming applications. Their motto is 'when it has to be right,' reflecting their commitment to delivering high-quality, precise solutions. One of their products is the Leica mojoRTK, an auto-steer guidance system designed to enhance precision in farming operations. The company is known for its innovative approach to product development and its commitment to leveraging the latest technology to improve its offerings. Despite facing challenges in the development process, Leica Geosystems is committed to delivering products that meet their high standards and the needs of their customers in the agriculture industry.
The Challenge
Leica Geosystems, a company known for its precision farming applications, faced a significant challenge during the development of the Leica mojoRTK, an auto-steer guidance system. The company had outsourced one of its boards to a contractor, a decision that soon proved to be a mistake. The board was returned behind schedule and failed to meet any of its design and manufacturing requirements. This left Leica Geosystems with a defunct PCB and a looming product launch. The company was faced with a critical decision: risk going back to the contractor, or overhaul the design and complete it in-house. The latter option was not going to be easy as the engineers needed to recapture the board design, translate files, and carefully recreate the PCB.
The Solution
Scott Gemmell, Engineering Manager at Leica Geosystems Agriculture, decided to complete the design in-house. The team had recently upgraded to Altium Designer and decided to leverage its latest features. The most significant change was the introduction of integrated database libraries, which allowed the team to link directly to inventory and components stored in their external databases. This feature enabled engineers to choose and place components from various databases, while creating a library specific to the project. They could also easily update and manage these databases from within their own design space. The integrated libraries also helped the team to source and cost components, reducing product turn-around time. The MCAD-ECAD collaboration technology in Altium Designer allowed the team to reduce revisions and work more closely with its industrial design team. The 3D visualization engine in Altium Designer helped build confidence around the design of the Leica mojoRTK.
Operational Impact
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