PDI takes great pride in showcasing our manufacturing facilities, as we have invested millions of dollars in state of the art manufacturing line, test equipment, quality programs and employee training.
In a market in which many competitors are cutting back on process equipment and personnel, PDI steadily moves forward to increase production capacity and hiring for key positions that all focuses on the delivery of quality products at competitive prices and shorter than industry standard lead times!
The following tour of our plants will show the dedication that PDI has to the investment of equipment, quality process controls and a talented staff that produce extremely high quality frequency devices.The only thing more impressive is an actual tour of our facilities! Once visited, our customers understand why the largest military contractors, manufacturers of NAV/COM, Radio RF, High-Speed Networking and Telecommunication companies have engaged with us!
MIDDLETON, WISCONSINMANUFACTURING FACILITY
Middleton, Wisconsin is home to our 60,000 square foot corporate office, manufacturing, design, sales and marketing facility. Upon your first glance at the one of the two main manufacturing floors, your eyes are greeted with a vast array of the latest manufacturing and test equipment and clean assembly area's all ran by an experienced team of professional and well trained personnel.
Because of the great amount of Military devices that are produced at this facility, one can see detailed work travelers and comprehensive binders of work instructions that are all compliant to strict industry standards for all of our devices manufactured, both Mil and Commercial Grade.
From the well appointed front reception area to the extreme cleanliness of the two main manufacturing floors, visitors at this facility leave with a high degree of confidence that PDI is the right choice as a preferred supplier!
Though our customers of our commercial-grade devices have no need for the stringent requirements of HI-REL manufacturing processes, they automatically get to take advantage of having their high-end crystals, filters and oscillators made at a facility in which the normal manufacturing processes are of MIL in nature without the high price tag.
For our Commercial Grade devices, PDI is an ISO 9001:2000, 14001:1996 registered facility that is RoHS compliant. For our HI-REL, Military Grade products, we are certified to MIL-STD-790 Product Assurance (a QPL listed company), MIL-PRF-38534 Hybrid Microcircuit (QML Listed Company).
From PDI’s fully ISO / QPL / QML approved incoming raw materials QA cage to the end customer, quality is seen in every step of our manufacturing processes. Because of our stringent quality assurance requirements in all aspects of our manufacturing processes, our commercial grade, Middleton built products go through the same inspection, handling and process lines as our HI-REL devices. Such compliance insures both our commercial and government customers exacting compliance to device specifications and unparalleled quality.
The two-story Middleton, Wisconsin manufacturing plant is divided into two main manufacturing floors that are separated by our clean room , HI-REL test lab and crystal etch room. Both floors have thousands of square feet that are managed by highly trained quality and process engineers, well trained technicians and certified assembly personnel.
In the middle of our two manufacturing floors sits our ISO 14644-1 & 2, Class 7 (FED-STD-209E), Class 10,000 clean room. Though not a hard requirement for the manufacturing of frequency devices, such clean-rooms insure the highest level of quality for procedures such as base plating, plasma cleaning, vacuum sealing, etc. With the manufacturing of crystal frequency tolerances that produce highly stable devices, such clean-rooms are mandatory.
The equipment in our clean room includes loading and cement stations (manual and automated), Sauders 5600 base platers with plasma cleaning, Crest ultrasonic wash tanks, Saunders 5250 final platers, Samco ozon strip systems, cold weld pre-seal tube ovens, cold weld vacuum sealers, ESP resistance welders and more. As our customers can see, no expense has been spared to make this clean room one of the industry’s best for processing crystals.
The crystal tech room at PDI has some of the most modern process equipment available that includes 4-way polishing, Future Fab 2-Station Pre-Wash, Crest 6-Station Automated Wash and SemiTool Spin Dryer systems that are all in compliance ISO and Government standards.
With Crystal Filters being a large part of PDI’s overall business, the second manufacturing floor area has dedicated assembly lines and in-depth test systems in place to accommodate small, moderate and high volumes of standard types through to complex multi-pole filters which are sold to the top names in the NAV/COM, radio and communication companies world-wide.
As seen throughout the manufacturing floor, various assembly areas for dedicated procedures are ran by technically qualified technicians who have had extensive training and certifications for the tasks they perform. You’ll see accountability for every step of our manufacturing processes and extremely detailed documentation for all lots that are in process.
For specific test requirements that are dictated by our customers, again, our highly trained staff of certified technicians and engineers see that all of the devices either meet or exceed their stated specifications. With all testing contained under one roof versus having to send the devices to out-of-house test subcontractors, our customers save time and money.
With the critical nature of testing of finished components, PDI takes great pride in our in-house ability top perform many tests on our crystals, crystal filters and oscillators. The above is our leak test station in which we can detect the smallest of leaks in sealed frequency devices in which both Gross and Fine leak testing is performed. For general leak testing of standard products to testing of our Hi-Rel devices, we meet or exceed all such test standards.
PDI’s Thermal Shock test capabilities are detailed and extensive. With tests performed to MIL-STD-883, Method 1011 and all records maintained per MIL-STD-790 and MIL-PRF-38534, our customers rely on us to deliver the highest quality products that are tested to demanding industry standards.
PDI performs both mechanical shock and vibration testing in house, compliant to MIL-STD-202, Method 204 and Method 204 for Swept Sine.
Constant Acceleration G-Force test system complies to MIL-STD-883, Method 2001 for all Hi-Rel test requirements up to 5,000 G’s with capabilities to 8,000 G’s.
Altitude Pressure testing is also a standard test that is performed in house at PDI. Testing is compliant to MIL-STD-202, Method 1050 and has been proof tested to 70,000 feet!
PDI oversees Radiation Tolerance Testing compliant to MIL-STD-883 to our aerospace customers world-wide. With Total Dose testing, Method 1019 and Neutron Irradiation testing, Method 1017, PDI delivers the highest quality QPL crystals and oscillators in the industry. In addition to standard radiation testing, PDI also oversees EDLRS (Enhanced Lose Dose Rate Effects) testing for our crystals and oscillators. Since an electronic system that is deployed in space can encounter ionizing dose rates of 0.001 rad (si) / second, or less, testing for this phenomenon is of particular concern because the design margins that enable circuits to tolerate radiation are often based on characterization data obtained at the standard 50 to 300 rad (Si) / second dose rate.
PDI also performs electrical testing that includes power burn-in that is compliant to MIL-STD-883, Method 1015 That measures frequency output, device stability tolerance (in ppm), duty cycle, current draw and rise and fall times.
PDI-UK
From our acquisition of Hy-Q in 1995, PDI has seen exponential growth with a solid base of International customers. With the specialization of supplying high-end, tight tolerance oscillators, PDI - UK has become a recognized leader as a preferred supplier of high quality TCXO's and VCXO's.
In 2008, PDI-UK introduced a line of extremely competitive OCXO’s that has given our customers the opportunity to save on their costs and reduce their lead times. With a proven track record of delivering complex designs, PDI-UK has mirrored the success of their standard, high-end devices with a great line of precision, tight tolerance ovenized oscillators.
Located in Cambridge, England, PDI Ltd. serves our global customers with extremely tight tolerance TCXO’s, VCXO’s and very competitive line of newly developed OCXO’s. With 40+ employees in a 12,500 square foot facility that delivers unprecedented quality, PDI-UK is well worth the time to qualify as a primary supplier for most all demanding oscillator needs.
From our fully staffed sales office in Hong Kong to our JV plant in Nanjing, China, PDI services customer requirements for high volume, low cost crystals and oscillators world-wide.
With consistent quality that has earned PDI preferred supplier status at an abundance of Fortune 500 companies, we invite you to qualify us for a like position at your company!
