We have often talked about how Meteca has included technology in the Briki®, line, not only cutting edge, but also the most effective to speed up the prototyping and realization of an IoT project. But Briki modules are not only well-engineered modules, but they have an iconic design that can be found also in their typical orange color.
We asked the Meteca team what were the needs that led to their flagship product. “At the beginning of the production of printed circuit boards, due to the lack of today’s automatic techniques, the qualitative inspection of the finished product was entrusted to workers who checked the boards one by one with the naked eye. Checking circuits with various tracks close to each other throughout the day was a very tiring and not immune to errors work, made even more difficult by the layer of paint (the soldermask) that was deposited on the circuit to facilitate the soldering of the components and to protect it from corrosion and damage. To make the operation safer and less difficult for the operator, it was necessary to find a way to improve the contrast between the copper and non-copper circuit areas and between the soldermask itself and the screen printing”, told us the engineers of Meteca. “Thanks to the joint work of neurologists and psychologists, it was discovered how the green pigment was perceived in an optimal way by the operator – the human eye has its own receptors more sensitive to light in the green band and how this had relaxing effects on the body reducing prolonged effort.
Nowadays PCB manufacturers, given the extreme miniaturization of circuits, tracks and clearances, no longer rely on “manual” control, but use automatic optical inspection techniques (AOI), which are very fast and effective in identifying errors. Since the advent of this new technology, the production of printed circuit boards has been able to free itself from the constraints of the past, adapting to the growing and varied market needs: different types of coloring have been introduced for soldermasks ranging from white, mainly used for its reflective properties in the Automotive sector for the construction of LED lights and black color mainly used in industrial sectors for its ability to absorb light radiation. Following were developed colors such as blue, red and yellow, and other variations of colors, born purely for aesthetic taste”.
To these technical and aesthetic needs, the Meteca Design team, composed of Alice Robbiani and Joelle Käser, creators in the past of Arduino communication, have applied its experience in the field of interaction and graphic design to develop a unified and complete corporate image. “Usually industrial products do not pay particular attention to the aesthetic aspect, which instead characterizes Briki products, which in addition to complying with the stringent industrial requirements, have an aesthetic significance. The choice of orange for the Briki modules and grey for the carrier boards represented a technological challenge, both in finding suitable pigments and in reproducibility and resistance of the final result. It is not easy to develop new colors that work well as an electrical insulator, that apply and adhere evenly, cure correctly and at the same time have a visually appealing appearance. For Meteca it was a challenge that lasted several months, made of tests and comparison with different production companies, to obtain that captivating result that best represents the attention to detail and a certain desire to stand out.
Telling the complex processes behind the production of a highly evolved product like Briki® may seem boring, but it is necessary to understand how much a company like Meteca invests in high control standards and in the small technical details and user interfaces that make their products the best solution in the field of IoT.
In addition to the particular coloring, in fact, Briki products aim to offer the maximum comfort of use by its users: each development board is equipped with silk-screened and personalized connectors on both sides, a feature adopted by very few companies, which allows a greater ease of reading. For further information on the world of IoT, please contact Meteca here.