What’s Next in 2023?
Potomac’s internal R&D group focuses on developing market-driven products that solve the specific problems our customers are facing in bringing new products to market. Not only do we purchase the most advanced new hardware and software, we also develop tools in-house that push the envelope of manufacturing innovation.
Our R&D team continually expands our toolbox with unique inventions and processes that give us a competitive manufacturing edge in the marketplace. Our engineers also optimize recently acquired advanced lasers such as a high pulse repetition rate Coherent Excimer and a high power Fiber Laser from Trumpf with modifications specific to our microfluidic, EV battery, aerospace, and biotech market segments.
Prototype to Production
Potomac’s entire mission is to take a customer idea from prototype to high volume production. For example, since we can manufacture an entire microfluidic device, we are cognizant of the many steps that go into making the final product and how to scale to as many as 3 million devices per year.
Automated systems are key to these high production quantities and our goal in 2023 is to increase number of parts coming out of our factory with the highest quality yields in the industry at the fastest turnaround. Close partnerships with our customers allow qualification of our production processes to ensure those goals are met time and again.
Making “Fail Fast” a Reality
Potomac Technician Raif manufacturing parts in the lab!
Many of the startups we serve are venture-funded bringing reality to the Silicon Valley term “Fail Fast”. Our rapid lead times allow customers to quickly test new ideas and those that fail are quickly discarded as they innovate new options.
Our venture-led clients tell us that they are now able to develop new products in 3 – 6 months instead of the normal 2 – 3 years. Being first to market is always important in high tech but also being able to ensure that market launch is successful with a fully optimized product almost always lead to high market share.
The Latest and Greatest Innovations
Potomac has always been at the forefront of innovation and today we’re manufacturing new products that are leading the world to solve challenges that impact us all. Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind and innovation is again central to finding better batteries for EV’s,
Animal testing has long been an established protocol in drug discovery programs. But there are systemic issues with the far from reliable methodology. In fact, only 10% of the drugs that move from animal testing to human clinical trials succeeds. Such low yields increase the time and expense required to get pharmaceuticals to market, fueling…
In the field of microfluidics, where precision is key to innovation and application success, our expertise at Potomac Photonics sets a standard. We specialize in the art of laser drilling precise small holes in glass slides and coverslips, a critical capability for the fabrication of microfluidic devices. These devices play a pivotal role in various…
The world today seems consumed with fears about Artificial Intelligence, otherwise known as AI. Writers, journalists, ad copywriters, teachers, and artists are fearful their jobs will be lost to computers but in manufacturing we have been applying a subset of AI to manufacturing for decades with positive results. Like other forms of AI, Machine Learning…