Liten Up

Background
LiTen Up Technologies, a US-based textile manufacturer for domestic and light commercial products, designed and developed the QBOT™, based on the company’s proprietary technology. The QBOT is the latest innovation in the world of quilting, providing users with professional results - easily and automatically. The QBOT can be used with any standard quilt frame or sewing machine. Its automatic hands-free movement creates the perfect design that would be impossible to do by hand, in just a fraction of the time. The QBOT offers users more than 18 quilting designs, and self-recording options to save and repeat one-of-a-kind patterns.

Challenge
To enhance the QBOT’s reliability, simplicity, ease-of-use, and overall cost efficiency, LiTen Up sought after a custom-drive and control system to improve their overall product offering. The company was determined to maintain their competitive costs, while meeting the demands of a growing market. The QBOT was a low-margin consumer application, and therefore production costs required stringent control. A viable custom-drive system would have to guarantee product reliability, and limit the need for technical field service and support. What’s more, users demanded an easy-to-use interface.

LiTen Up were using encoders on each of their two-axis machines. To quickly and easily reproduce the designs once they were made the first time, they required a program that would remember the pattern, motors, and drives to produce the motion. Developing a solution in-house would have resulted in an extended development cycle with increased research, development, and testing costs.

AXYSTEMS, in collaboration with Danaher Motion, were able to provide LiTen Up with a custom-drive and control system that met the initial price target, far beyond that of any off-the-shelf controller. The team’s expertise and market-proven experience were key in the development of a new, robust and reliable drive and control system.

Solution
AXYSTEMS and Danaher Motion partnered with LiTen Up to implement a unique and innovative drive and control system into LiTen Up’s two-axis machine. Following seven months of development, the successful joint venture resulted in a series of customized options that were seamlessly integrated with the Danaher Motion CT 17-frame motor series. Working closely with LiTen Up’s R&D team, AXYSTEMS and Danaher Motion’s engineers condensed months of development time into days, that resulted in the delivery of working prototypes. Following the development cycle, AXYSTEMS and Danaher Motion received the first production order for 1000 units.

Results
Danaher Motion and AXYSTEMS provided LiTen Up with a single vendor custom drive and control solution that met and exceeded all customer requirements. The collaborative design and development process resulted in quick and efficient project turnaround time, decreased development and manufacturing costs, and sped up the time to market. The unique combination of Danaher Motion and AXYSTEMS’ engineering, marketing and sales expertise, and a clear understanding of the customers’ needs, translated into a winning solution… initial production order totaled $340K in 2007, an additional $700K in 2008, and $1.2M in 2009!

"The winning team of Danaher Motion and AXYSTEMS gave us exactly what we needed – and more. We were able to provide our customers with a superior QBOT system that was robust, reliable and more importantly – easy to operate. We could not have asked for a more professional team that truly exceeded our expectations.”

Mike Henry, Field Sales Engineer, LiTen Up