Bespoke design – the future

Britain has, for the past decade or so, been hard hit by the continuing strength of the pound and low-cost competition from emerging economies. There is, however, a recovery in manufacturing, particularly within high value-added areas such as pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. Most companies today want to reduce costs through the use of evolving technology and r&d and, as a result, have opened up the flood gates to new ideas. This is not a surprising development now that we face stiff competition on a global basis.

Manufacturing has long since been written off in this country – but there is a renaissance occurring as companies chase the development of new technology and the use of novel materials. Businesses have identified the need to become more creative and innovative and, as a result, are focusing on being idea generators to drive demand for quick turn around product development.

These stages are extremely comprehensive and include: idea generation, proof of concept, product design, detailed engineering and prototyping. Another vital step companies must consider when producing and profiting from product development within the overall strategic process is the management of the product life cycle; implemented to maintain and grow market share.

Having a flexible approach is vital because change can be expected in what the customer may want, how they might use the product, how your competitors may respond and how new technologies may be applied to the product or its manufacturing process. The more innovative a new product is, the more likely it is that the development team will have to make changes during development and with the ever increasing need for flexible thinking and innovation, and the pioneering use of technology within the pharmaceutical, industrial and nuclear marketplaces, these changes are prompting the evolution of a new breed of company.

The technology revolution has a definite foothold in these industries and the exponential shortening of product life cycles has, in turn, accelerated the business cycle movement. This particular trend is being driven by customer demand for lower costs, a progressive move away from batch production to continual processes and the rapid advancement of new technologies and new materials and, as a result, is providing small, dynamic and technology focused companies with the opportunity to carve out a new niche for themselves within these marketplaces.

Manufacturers are now focusing on making products that fit exactly what customers need; providing a quality they demand, giving a service that meets specific requirements and at a price that the customer is willing to pay. More companies are spending their time, effort and money focusing on procuring hybrid gloveboxes and containment systems to fulfil their individual and precise requirements instead of spending money on products that only fulfil part of the function they need. Innovative and progressive organisations focused on speed to market are addressing the new pressures they now face by investing in equipment which will help them to improve their processes and throughput – buying off-the-shelf containment systems is proving to be an inadequate option.

The very nature of gloveboxes that enable operators to manipulation objects in a safe environment while they remain in a different atmosphere from the object itself - means the design and functionality of these systems is crucial.

It is this changing marketplace that Saffron Scientific Equipment is seeing significant growth. Based in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, this small, experienced, flexible company is growing as a direct result of being able to provide its customers with both standard/off-the-shelf and hybrid designs and manufacturing exactly what the customer wants – a combination that has helped catapult it into the international marketplace, having lately supplied companies in Spain, Greece, China, Australia, the USA and Fiji.

More recently Saffron has been instrumental in helping a drug discovery company with the design, development and manufacture of a custom built hybrid environmental chamber to assist in Asthma research. The glovebox manufacturer was commissioned to design a system that would easily allow the precise humidity control within an environment that was needed to safely culture house dust mites while protecting their scientists from the powerful Asthma causing substances the mites produce.

Saffron designed a system that provided a high humidity controlled temperature environment with a metered air supply. This unique system helped to incorporate the exacting levels of intelligence and control needed to maintain the high levels of accuracy required and, as a result, the drug company is now able to carry out its crucial research without compromising safety.

Another prominent example was the commissioning of a glovebox for a leading University’s Institute of Materials Research, School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering Department which required a tailored unit. The brief comprised of the design and manufacture of an environment that would enable them to mix moisture sensitive organometallic compounds in an inert atmosphere, in this case nitrogen gas. Successfully achieved, the glovebox is now controlling oxygen and moisture accurately at the very low levels that are required to handle these sensitive materials.

Another UK University’s Interface Analysis Centre (IAC) needed an environment capable of creating a positive or negative pressure at the flick of a switch for use in the research of environmental issues. Researchers at the Centre needed a controlled yet flexible environment to investigate new remediation technologies for future applications. As a result, Saffron designed a glovebox that incorporated three glove ports as well as a pressure control switch, which could be easily switched between a positive and negative pressure environment.

Users of the glovebox have commented that it is a robust, cost-effective solution which has assisted the research in two significant ways: firstly, it has acted as a simple containment facility, making the handling of contaminated material safer; secondly, the glovebox allows for greater control and flexibility in experimental conditions, allowing the environment to be tailored according to the reactions. This has enabled the IAC to elucidate the mechanisms involved in soil/water systems below ground level where oxygen levels are greatly reduced.

Over the past couple of years Saffron has observed many changes across a broad spectrum of industries including the scientific, pharmaceutical, nuclear, industrial, academic and r&d sectors. Their order book has witnessed a definite shift and it is now manufacturing with an increasing emphasis on bespoke design and flexibility; working in partnership with its customers to deliver tailored specific requirements.

To achieve such tailored solutions, Saffron has developed partnerships with new product development and electronic design specialists. Working in partnership with these specialists is helping the company to build a prominent reputation; and ultimately position itself at the forefront of a new and distinguished mindset.

Furthermore, assisting companies located in different time zones is no longer a barrier as increasing advancements in technology and communications provide the flexibility to meet customer demands. Integrating the latest CAD and solid modelling software within the design process means that drawings and ideas can be easily manipulated real time to reflect changes in design and function. This means Saffron can offer low cost feasibility studies and budget proposals to help companies in their decision making process.

This innovative shift in product design and development is now fundamental for those organisations who, having already gone through a long, complicated and arduous decision making process, want to receive their dry anaerobic gloveboxes and containment solutions within weeks – not months.