Design for Instrumental - Simple Design Ideas for Engineers to Get the Most from AI in NPI

Watch the full recording of the webinar below.

Watch David analyze a prototype using real Instrumental data below

Instrumental’s cameras and AI can supercharge your manufacturing line’s quality analysis. But to get the most from Instrumental, it helps to design with Instrumental cameras in mind. David Platner, Staff Optomechanical Engineer at GoPro, is a long-time power user of Instrumental technology. David started at – the birthplace of the modern NPI process and originator of the EVT, DVT, and PVT phases—and has watched the evolution of product design first-hand. We got the opportunity to get his perspective on best practices for engineers in NPI, the future of manufacturing, and his creative ideas for how engineers can tweak their designs to make the most of AI technology.

Check out David’s best practices below, and follow along as David analyzes actual data from Instrumental stations.

Really Take Advantage of the Design Phase

“In the design phase, it’s inconsequential to add things, like art colors, adhesive colors, markings, and silk screenings,” David explains. Adding color, markings, and other kinds of visual data (or “Easter eggs”) can help cameras and human operators [identify missing components and misalignments](timestamp to lines on ribbon cables) more easily.

Make Time For Facetime

Early visits to your manufacturer are a great time to talk about your expectations and set them up for success. This is your chance to give them ITC templates and data exit templates, and to figure out what tasks you can automate, like using conditional formatting and rules to flag issues in real time. 

Additionally, this is where you can ask for your Easter eggs. Your vendor won’t balk at the request, but they need time because it’s a part of tooling.

Leverage Visual Data

[Whether it’s coloring gaskets](timestamp to recommendation of microphone gasket), [adding centration marks](link to this), or [adding fluorescence to your adhesive and using UV light to find out where your glue ended up](timestamp), using visual flags will help human operators and cameras identify where components’ orientation, alignment, and presence. 

Be Strict With Your EVT

If there are issues in your DVT phase, but there are still issues from EVT, you’re not set up for success. Between EVT and DVT, it’s important to stop and reflect: what’s going well, what’s not working, and what can we iterate between this build and do better going into DVT?

Instrumental Keeps Receipts

Instrumental brings traceability and visibility to the line. When you can see immediately that a part is misaligned, it sets your team up for wins. You get immediate value when anyone working in these tools can find and demonstrate issues, especially if it saves them a flight to the factory. “This is good data to have, and a good tool to have.”