2 Nautical Mile All Round White Navigation Lamp.
Client: Hella New Zealand Ltd / Hella Marine Ltd.
The aims of the 2 NM NaviLED 360 project included reducing product size, component cost and assembly time. An expensive metal heat sink component was completely eliminated and multiple soldering assembly steps were reduced to a single joint by using connectors between stacked circuit boards. The multi-stage gluing process was reduced to a single robot pass which maintained the IP67 sealing rating with less opportunity for rejects.
Fitting in all the components within the small space while staying under the thermal target was a challenge, as was designing an installation method which had completely concealed fasteners within the minimal footprint. Due to the potential weight of hanging cables from the top of a mast, excellent cable retention was also provided.
The lamp was designed to run on any voltage from 9V to 33V DC while meeting (and exceeding) the functional requirements for a 2 Nautical Mile navigation lamp. This was achieved while keeping the power consumption under 1 watt.
Role: Lead product designer.
Tasks: Project management, product design, tooling liaison, internal test plan and environmental, photometric and mechanical testing, alpha build and certification submission support.