Development Of Control Relays And Bring To Market
Help us launch our new business... This is all new to me so please bear with me...
To date ( 4th Jan 2017) I have developed a range of relay control modules from basic 12 & 24 v dc modules to complex, microcontroller based timer relay units. I have developed these for the fire & security industry (my background) but these can be used for many other trades such as BMS, Lighting control, Pump control etc. These will work with any control equipment which provides a 12 or 24 volt dc supply.
I started out with a £600.00 budget which i gave myself to develop these, however, that £600.00 pounds has now nearly gone and I now need to buy software to complete the development of the microcontroller units. I have been using a free edition of the development software to develop the relay modules but I now need to buy a licence to complete the coding. I have also put a lot of time and effort into the development of these relay modules.
The remaining money raised by this crowdfunding will go into CE certification and product testing before final production runs.
This is a new business for me and my wife as we have just registered as a Limited company.
Modules developed to date.
1) 3 No. simple relay modules. These are simple relays which work by suppling either a 12v or 24v dc (dependant on model) to on-board terminals. This will then switch on the relay to provide 2x volt free contacts. In the fire alarm trade, these modules are used to shutdown lifts, close fire doors or signal to 3rd party control equipments such as BMS systems etc. Development of these boards are complete and ready for production. Testing & documentation yet to be completed on these units.
2) A unit similar to the above but contains 4 seperate relays. This unit can be switched with either 12v or 24v dc and means that this unit can be used instead of buying several of the above units. I currently have this out being printed and requires final development and testing and any alterations made prior to CE certification/Testing and creating documentation.
3) A micro controller 'Pulse Extender' relay module. This unit can be switched with either 12v or 24v dc and has a bank of on-board dipswitches which allow a time delay to be programmed . This delay is then used to switch the relay on for that amount of time. Eg. Imagine that you have a locked gate and a push button. Instead of pressing the push button until someone pushes the gate open, this relay allows you to programme, say, a 10 second delay then this relay will open the gate for 10 seconds from a momentary press of the button before locking securly after the 10 second delay. The time delay can be set at any time between 0.5 seconds upto 255 seconds. I have proven coding for this and tested inhouse. I need to make a few alterations to the PCB layout to meet the requirements of CE certification and requires testing & documentation creating.
4) Programmable timer relay ( The images below). This unit has a LCD screen and a menu which allows you to set an 'ON' and an 'OFF' time. The relay will then cycle though these time, switching the relay on & off as programmed. Cycle, Latched/Non Latched and countdown in seconds or minutes options are also offered. I started this relay with the intention of giving a pulsed 'Alert' tone to a fire alarm system but this has now evolved into a fully programmable unit. I now have so may lines of code within this microcontroller that i now need to invest in software to allow me to complete the coding of this unit before inhouse testing CE certification and the necessary documentaion creating.
About me.
I have worked in the fire alarm industry since the age of 21 and have a technical mind! I taught myself javascript coding used in website programming many years ago. I then found out that I can use a similar coding language (C#) to programme micro chips so I taught myself this. I have developed the above using the C# language and a complier. It is this complier which only allows a certain amount of code before the licence must be bought.
Where the money will be spent.
I'm hoping to raise £3000.00. To complete the development and to create working prototypes I have budgeted £1000.00.
The remaining £2000.00 is to be used for component procurment and CE Certification / Testing & Documentaion. I am prepared to manufature the units / develop the website & create part of the documentation myself.
