Case Study: Puffco
Instrumental helped Puffco streamline defect detection and failure analysis during the NPI build of a first-generation product.
During an NPI build, Puffco found that a complex product design and pandemic-induced travel barriers limited their ability to gather data on underperforming units. But by working with Instrumental, Puffco gained immediate insight into the underlying issue, discovered root cause in record time, and implemented process changes to improve product performance.
The Challenge
Travel barriers weren’t the only challenges facing Chris Fisher, senior test and quality manager at Puffco, during their NPI build. The product had a complex design process that was difficult to translate remotely to their overseas manufacturing partner, and they soon discovered there was significant variation in the product performance.
The team spent over three months trying to discover the issue on their own — even inserting a tiny microscope into the assembled unit to get visual confirmation of the root cause — with no luck.
The Results
Puffco leveraged Instrumental’s Discover AI solution and Creative Electron imaging to not only solve their existing NPI challenge, but also set them up for long-term success with future builds. Instrumental allowed the Puffco team to:
- Identify the defect in one day
- Cut four weeks off the project schedule
- Change processes to continue building a high-quality first-generation product
Download the full case study to learn more about Puffco’s journey with Instrumental and the results they achieved.
