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Portfolio
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Pickard Systems has worked with
clients ranging from start-up companies to Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries. Below is a small sample of our diverse client base.
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This battery-powered meter was developed for a medical company that also
sells dialysis cartridge re-use equipment. This unit is marketed for
technician use in dialysis clinics. The embedded microprocessor performs a
number of functions, including measurement and displays of temperature,
pressure, conductivity, and pH. The circuit design, board layout, and
software were done on contract for the company by Pickard Systems. |
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This is a hydraulic crimper control, done on contract for a large
international company, allowed precision connector crimping on high-pressure
hydraulic hoses. It allows the operator to choose a die size and hose type,
and then the embedded controller measured movement of the crimping piston so
precisely that crimp diameters were controlled to within 0.001" on a
2" inch diameter hose.
The crimping piston movement is monitors by the gold-colored frame near
the back of the unit. A sheathed cable runs from the piston to the encoder
frame, where the linear motion is converted into rotary motion driving the
1024 count/revolution encoder. The encoder frame design is an example our
mechanical design capabilities. Note that the conductive rubber keypad is
mounted directly to the printed circuit board, minimizing unit cost.
Click on the lower picture for a detailed view
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These circuits boards, a master control and slave unit was designed for a
utility-metering company to monitor heat usage in large apartment complexes.
The master unit downloaded stored meter data from many slaves via a RS485
communication link. Pickard System designed the hardware, laid out the
circuit board, and authored the software.
Click on either picture for a larger view.
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A large medical company, based in Minneapolis, bought these boards from
Pickard Systems along with other hardware for testing artificial heart
valves in a true hydraulic environment that simulated human
circulation. It is a standard ISA bus board and the host PC controlled the
data collection and pump drive signals to maintain preset flow, pressure,
and temperature conditions.
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These units are two examples of hydronic heating zone controls for
residential and commercial buildings. Unit cost was very important to the
client, so PLD logic was used instead of microcomputer. Thermostats calling
for heat are prioritized so that the boiler is not run cold. Communication
of priority information was done on a customer bus controlled by the PLD
logic, as was a remote status display.
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This fiber optic security unit was designed for a company seeking a contract
with the US Navy to protect against unintentional operation of critical
hand-operated valves in the engine room. A coded pulse is transmitted down
one fiber and received on the other If the codes don't match, an alarm is
sounded. Multiple units connected to a single PC via a RS485 serial bus. The
units were completely potted for environmental protection. |
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This custom three channel data logger was designed to collect and
store temperature data from thermistor probes with high precision. Most
importantly, the units operates at 150°C indefinitely. Powered by a lithium
coin cell, is it used to monitor high temperature processes such a brick
baking, lumber drying, etc.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
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This unit was custom-designed for a medical device company. It used a high
voltage electrostatic field to attract a very tiny thread of polymer liquid
to a intravascular stent mounted on a spinning mandrel. The syringe pump
controlling the liquid flow rate, the movement of the syringe carriage, high
voltage level, and mandrel speed were all controlled via a RS232 serial link
to the com port on a standard desktop PC. The PC ran custom software
allowing the operator to select preset parameter sets for different target
stents. Click on the picture for a larger view.
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This is a prototype version of an implantable left ventricular assist device
to support patient circulation while awaiting a donor heart. The device
itself was designed by other specialists under a National Heart Institute
grant. We devised a the silvered dome as a sensor to detect a full-blood
state of inner bladder using capacitive sensing. When the bladder was full,
a signal actuated a pressure source that expelled the blood into the patient
circulation.
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