Automotive Board Design & Production

Many of the ideas and concepts discussed elsewhere on this site came about during the construction of a Starter interrupt device.

Development of the starter interrupt is a specific example which incorporates our assumptions about:

• Business models
• Time to Market
• Multiple spins
• Grounding

For those of you who have never heard of a starter interrupt device, here is a nutshell summary.

Sub-prime lenders make used car loans to people who have terrible credit.  To improve their collections they frequently require installation of a starter interrupt device before they will make the loan.  The starter interrupt is an electronic device which cuts off power to the cars starter if it does not get reset regularly.  Each time a customer makes a payment they get a new code which resets the starter interrupt and lets them keep driving.

If they fail to make a payment the device does not allow current to flow to the starter motor and the car won't start. 

I am putting together a more detailed description of starter interrupts (ignition interlocks) on www.starter-interrupts.com . There are many nuances to how the devices operate and what sorts of user issues you are likely to encounter if you choose to use such a device in your business.  This site will let me cover the issues more completely, both from a business view and a consumer view.

The process of building a starter interrupt went as follows:

1. Research the requirements of the device.
2. Understand the automotive physical and electrical environment
3. Find low cost board design & layout tools.
4. Research manufacturers spec sheets for components.
5. Source components.
6. Design the board with redundent and extra compontents (see multiple spin assumptions).
7. Select component vendors - cost is not the only variable.
8. Assemble the boards
9. Test
10. Second spin