The development of a new, low-profile stirring hotplate line used our industrial design, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering skills. The varied models within the hotplate line use either traditional analog information displays or newer digital displays. Our industrial design team developed a clean and simple UI for both, as well as an aesthetically pleasing low-profile housing that angles the controls and displays toward the user. In an earlier branding effort, our designers created a distinctive color palette and graphic waveform for our client, which was applied to the stirring hotplate- reinforcing the customer’s brand image.
Our electrical engineers designed how the stirring speed, which ranges between 100 to 2000 rpm, was controlled using a microprocessor with optical feedback. A balanced permanent magnet attached to the motor's rotor uses its magnetic field to agitate a Teflon-coated stirring magnet within a beaker solution. Thermal management issues, encountered with the low profile design, were handled by our mechanical engineers with the use of ceramic, die casting, metal extrusion, sheet metal, and glass fabrication techniques. Exterior parts in contact with the user are made of injection molded plastic for safety and aesthetic reasons. The result was an attractive new hotplate design that is often imitated and iterated upon by laboratory equipment competitors.