Our engineering prowess is second to none. From Electrical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering, and Compliance Engineering to Testing & Qualification, our talented workforce possesses the experience and expertise to design systems and applications tailored to meet your specific requirements.

Contact us to discuss how we will engineer an efficient, cost-effective solution for you. Our standard commercial rate for non-recurring engineering support is $200/hour. We look forward to working with you.

Custom Electrical Engineering

Engineering expertise includes:

• Analog and digital schematic and printed circuit board design using ORCAD software with PSPICE and error mode simulation
• LED backlight design
  • Sunlight / daylight readable
  • NVIS displays
  • CCFL replacement
• Video compatibility verification and custom signal creation and matching using Quantum Data QD701A and 881D programmable video generators
• Digital oscilloscopes up to 1GHz
• Logic and digital communication protocol analyzers
• Systems Engineering
• Power Management Design

Custom Mechanical Design

Design expertise includes:

• 3D/CAD design using state-of-the-art PTC CREO^® Parametric modeling software
• Thermal analysis using FloEFD software by Mentor Graphics
• Specialize in designing stationary and sliding rack mount equipment for commercial, industrial and military applications
• Design of products compliant to customer-specific requirements—such as brackets, bezels, and enclosures—for commercial, industrial, marine, aerospace and military marketplaces

Software Engineering

• Embedded firmware development
• Product-specific supporting software design (a few examples listed below)
  • LED Controller (21-233)
    • LED backlight brightness monitoring and auto correction
    • Ambient light sensing and auto backlight brightness adjustment
    • Control fan speed based on embedded thermal sensor feedback
    • Intelligent backlight brightness / power reduction to avoid overtemp
    • Control of status / failure LEDs
  • USB Controller
    • USB interface that allows field programming of embedded controllers such as OSD, touch, backlight and video controller
  • OSD Controller
    • Controls communication between keypad and video controller
    • Controls status indicators

Design Specifications

General Digital has an intimate familiarity with industry and military design requirements and standards.

• Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard requirements:
  • MIL-DTL-901E (Shock, shipboard)
  • MIL-STD-167-1A (Vibration, shipboard)
  • MIL-STD-461E/F (EMI)
  • MIL-STD-810F/G (Environment)
  • MIL-STD-704F
  • RTCA DO-160
  • FCC Part 15 Class A/B
• Air Traffic Control requirements:
  • UL60950-1 (Safety)
  • FCC Part 15 Class A (EMC)
  • EN 61000-4-2 (ESD)
• Industrial / Maritime requirements:
  • IP67
  • NEMA 6

Configuration Control/Product Support

• Documentation management using Pro/ENGINEER Windchill software
• Lifecycle Management of system components
• Configuration Control of materials allows continued support of products for 20+ years
  • VuePoint II™, VuePoint III™
  • GenStar™, GenStar II™, GenStar III™
  • WR Systems: 90-600-202 / 90-700-016 / 90-500-002
• Redesign of obsolete configurations in conjunction with customer to continue support, integrate latest technology
• Consignment stocking program
• Internal MRP database

Display/Optical Engineering and Enhancement

Touch screens, vandal shields, polarizers and optical films are just some of the many options our Optical Bonding Laboratories utilize to provide the latest and most effective display enhancements.

• Selection and integration of the following optical / display enhancements:
  • Surface laminations of optical, first-surface, films (antireflective, antiglare, AR/AG, privacy, ITO, etc.)
    • Automated lamination (displays up to 22" diag) using Sun-Tec TMS-SA-2
    • Manual lamination for larger display sizes
  • Specialty reflective, prismatic and polarizing films behind the LCD
  • Touch screens
  • Vandal shields (Gorilla Glass^®, shatterproof glass, optically bonded vandal shields, plastics)
  • EMI / RFI (ITO, mesh, etc.) filters
  • Optical and membrane heaters
  • LED backlights (sunlight / daylight or CCFL replacement)
  • NVIS filters
  • ¼-wave retarders and circular polarizers
• All display disassembly, integration and reassembly performed in Class 10 clean room or Class 100 laminar flow bench using ion showers and guns
• Optical laboratory services in-house

Optical Bonding

• Types of Bonds
  • Use of latest silicone, epoxy and acrylic materials
  • Static, shimmed, and filled bonds
  • Room temperatue, oven-cured and UV cure bonds
  • Extreme temperature specialty bonds down to –60° C
  • Glass-to-glass, glass-to-non-glass, and non-glass-to-non-glass bonds

Many of our customers find themselves faced with meeting strict military, industrial, or harsh environmental requirements. In response to these challenging needs, General Digital provides on-site testing and characterization services.
 

Environmental Testing

Testing expertise includes:

• Thermal testing and profiling of electronic assemblies for shock, boundary, dwell and customer-specified temperature profiles using programmable Thermatron temperature / humidity chamber
• Condensing and non-condensing humidity testing and profiling
• Performance capture using latest digital technology, including multichannel analog / digital data loggers in conjunction with electronic and optical test equipment and sensors
• Altitude and  pressure simulation in multi-sized programmable vacuum chambers and pressure vessels
• Supervision and consulting of off-site electrical and mechanical testing, performed by independent third party laboratories
  • Shock, vibration, barge test, etc.

EMI Pre-Testing

• On-site lab, utilizing wideband directional antenna in conjunction with HP 8595E spectral analyzer and faraday cage

Software Testing

Specializing in testing safety critical embedded software for over 25 years, General Digital Software Services has extensive experience providing customers with an accurate assessment of software deficiencies early in the development life cycle. This translates into a cost efficient high quality result, which means less engineering oversight on your part.

• Specializing in:
  • Requirements-based testing and development
  • Tool qualification
  • System level testing
  • Integration testing
  • Unit testing for avionics embedded systems
• Software development and testing experience in many languages, including:
  • C
  • C++
  • ADA
  • Assembly
  • Numerous processors
• Experience with many tools, debuggers, and simulators, including:
  • VectorCast
  • LDRA
  • AdaTEST
  • Rational Test RealTime
  • Green Hills
  • TRACE32
  • More
• Testing to FAA’s strict guidelines DO-178B / DO-178C up to Level A Life Critical
• Participated in many FAA and military software certifications of customer-supplied code and software tools by domestic and international authorities
• Innovations in our own test tools allows for true independence and more robust test case generation, leading to high quality results
• Our Quality Management System means fewer turnbacks and less costly engineering oversight for customer
  • Over 25 years of experience with hundreds of thousands of man-hours in the past ten years alone
  • Average experience of Software Engineer / Tester is greater than 10 years

Optical Testing Laboratory

Optical expertise includes:

• Quantification of standard and Weber contrast of OEM, customer-supplied, and General Digital-enhanced displays in our optics lab, using multiple independent hight brightness light sources conforming to MIL-STD-3009 (Read the overview about our test setup)
  • MIL-STD-3009, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INTERFACE STANDARD: LIGHTING, AIRCRAFT, NIGHT VISION IMAGING SYSTEM (NVIS) COMPATIBLE (2 FEB 2001) [SUPERSEDING MIL-L-85762A]., This standard establishes requirements for the emission characteristics of aircraft lighting and display equipment that is intended for use with night vision imaging systems (NVIS). It is applicable to all systems, subsystems, component equipment, and hardware that provide the lighting environment on aircraft where NVIS are employed. This document is applicable to NVIS specific performance requirements but it does not contain general lighting requirements. The contracting activity should extract and tailor applicable general lighting requirements from JSSG-2010-5 and include those requirements in the contract.
• Quantification of optical luminance, uniformity, and chromaticity using multiple measurement devices including a Minolta CS100/LS110 non-contact colorimeter, Klein K10 tristimulus colorimeter, and X-Rite spectrophotometer
• Quantification of AG gloss properties of overlays and touch screens, using M&I Instruments / TP-00683 Triple Angle, 20/60/85 continuous reading  glossmeter
• Calibration of monitors color using SpectraCal Calman Pro software for accurate color representation and color coherence across multiple display systems
• Quantification of wideband spectral components and NVIS capability using QE65000 spectrometer and custom-designed data analysis software
• Multiple integrating spheres for uniform light source creation, and point source spectral component and power measurements
• Designing display light guides, backlighting systems, and  film stacks using Light Tools software and material libraries

To our valued customers, our highly trained and tenured production staff delivers quality and reliability in every product. In addition, as a full contract manufacturing service, we can perform as little or as much servicing as required, while providing progressive advice and engineering expertise for continued innovation and evolution of your equipment.
 

Industrial LCD Monitors At A Glance
 

Contract Manufacturing

General Digital encourages relationships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and other organizations in a broad range of markets and industries. The complete solutions that we provide help many of our customers by alleviating their inventory burden and increasing their asset flexibility. From turnkey display systems to customized electronic devices, our rugged and specialized products will meet the demanding needs of any environment, no matter how harsh or unique it may be. General Digital will maintain your company's authoritative identity and brand with your private label on our dependable products.
 

Production

• Antistatic epoxy flooring (employees provided antistatic heal straps)
• Antistatic bench mats and wrist straps
• ESD test stations and ESD Tester (United Static Control Products Inc RT-1000)
• Power and manual screw drivers, torque drivers, and other assembly tools
• Burn-in rooms and racks for unattended testing equipped with:
  • Video generators
  • Test Computers
    • Sun SPARC workstations
• Ovens and temperature chambers for accelerated burn-in
• Highly configurable workstations/cells
• Programmable DC power supply, various AC/DC power supplies
• Digital calipers

Tool Shop

We have a small work shop equipped with the tools that allow us to make prototype or small rapid-production brackets, mounting plates and enclosures, corrections to contracted sheet metal, or modifications to existing sheet metal:

• Band saw, Vertical, Variable Speed Pulley (MSC 62112347)
• Belt Sander, Belt/Disc, Free-Standing (Rockford SB-611P)
• Sheer
• Drill Press

Circuit Board Production

General Digital has the following in-house production equipment to build and test circuit boards:

• High-speed CNC, PCB stuffing, automated Pick and Place base machine and feeders (DDM Novastar LE40V)
  • Capable of 13.5" x 18" palletized boards for rapid assembly
• Reflow Oven (DDM Novastar GF-120HC-HT)
  • 41" 3-stage programmable profile solder reflow tunnel capable of 10 board inches per minute for high throughput
• Pre- and post-production PCB qualification capability
• Stencil Printer (DDM Novastar SPR-25)
• Ultrasonic Cleaner (Branson 8510MTH)

Our reputation is built on the products and services we provide. For this reason, quality control inspection is performed on 100% of products we manufacture, not just on a sample lot.
 

Display Systems Products

• 168-hour room temperature (or equivalent) burn-in of military and avionic products
• 72-hour room temperature (or equivalent) burn-in of commercial and industrial products
• 100% of products visually and functionally inspected
• Strict documentation control (ensures orderly custom configuration maintenance) for every product and revision even for build size of 1 piece
  • Specification / configuration signoff by Sales, Engineering, and QC
  • Includes all mechanical, electrical (PCB) and cable drawings
  • Acceptance test procedures
• Shop Traveler records maintained for 20 years (minimum), and includes:
  • Serial numbers of all electrical subassemblies [LCD, controllers (PCBs), power supply, etc.]
  • Acceptance test plans
  • Inspection results (with QC signatures to track responsible parties)
• ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certified (view certificate)
• Inspectors are trained and certified to:
  • IPC-A-610
  • IPC/WHMA-A-620-C
  • IPC-7711
  • IPC-7721
  • J-STD-001
  • J-STD-001 HS
• On-site staff includes Certified Instructional Trainers (CIT) and Certified Instrument Specialists (CIS)
• Quality Manual
  • LCD Overlays inspected using Scratch-Dig limit of 80-50 as defined in MIL-PRF-13830B
  • Certificate of Conformance (C of C) available upon request
  • Inspection equipment includes:
    • Magnification loupes and reticule
    • OEM display quality requirements

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Optical Bonding Laboratories Products/Services

• Displays (consigned or purchased) are visually and functionally inspected before disassembly for optical bonding to optimize bonding yields.  Inspection size/percentage  determined by customer/quotation
  • Video test kits are created and stored in OBL inventory
• LCD overlays are visually inspected before optical bonding to maximize optical bonding yields
• 100% visual and functional of display assembly after optical bonding
• Strict documentation control (ensures orderly custom configuration maintenance) for every product and revision even for build size of 1 piece
  • Specification/configuration signoff by Sales, Engineering, and QC
  • Includes all mechanical, electrical (PCB) and cable drawings
• Acceptance test procedures
• Shop Traveler records maintained for 20 years (minimum), and includes:
  • Serial numbers of all electrical subassemblies [LCD, controllers (PCBs), power supply, etc.]
  • Acceptance test plans
  • Inspection results (with QC signatures to track responsible parties)
• Quality Manual
  • Inspection equipment includes:
    • Magnification loupes and reticule
    • OEM display quality requirements