The Client: Ignite! Learning
Ignite! is a company committed to helping teachers by creating reliable, effective, and fun educational media. The company's flagship product is the Curriculum On Wheels (COW), a flexible multimedia curriculum tool designed to deliver comprehensive science and social studies media content to students in a motivational and engaging way. School districts and public and private schools in Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Nevada and California have adopted the Ignite! Curriculum on Wheels to help improve student performance in science, social studies and history.
The Challenge: Prototype & Build
Ignite! came to Deaton Engineering with an urgent need to design and prototype their product concept and begin shipments in just six weeks. The device would be a self-contained unit featuring a built-in computer, LCD projector and speakers. The overriding requirement was that elementary and middle school teachers would be able to simply plug in the device and begin a lesson.
The Solution: An Imaginative COW
Deaton Engineering created a winning design in just a couple of weeks. In a very short timeframe, we worked in tandem with our rapid prototype partners to deliver a Sterolithography (SLA) enclosure. DEI and Ignite! selected the internal components to be incorporated into the product. In the next phase of the project, we optimized the design for manufacture by selecting a thermoforming vendor that could meet the tight manufacturing budget. Our attention to detail ensured the COW would be UL and CE compliant.
Engineering Highlights:
- Delivered the award-winning "Curriculum on Wheels" on time and on budget
- Developed manufacturing and quality assurance procedures
- Designed versions for US and International markets
- Manufactured the first 1,000 units
- Provided fulfillment services and drop shipped units worldwide
- Transitioned manufacture to lower cost domestic contract manufacturer
