Embedded engineering · Switzerland
Fermium develops embedded products from the first idea to series production: PCB design, real-time firmware, embedded Linux, complete system builds and the test systems that keep production running.
[Photo: a board, a finished assembly or a test system from your workshop]
Services
Bring us one discipline or the whole product. Every project starts with a technical conversation, not a sales call.Bring us one discipline or the whole product.
PCB design from schematic to manufacturing handover, for new products, cost-down projects and redesigns after component obsolescence.
Real-time embedded software in C and C++, from bare-metal drivers to RTOS and embedded Linux systems, with timing and reliability as the first requirement.Real-time embedded software in C and C++, from bare-metal drivers to RTOS and embedded Linux systems.
Products that are easy to produce in series: hardware designed for the assembly line, complete systems built up from boards and mechanics.
Test systems for circuit boards and assemblies, designed and built together with the product so every unit leaves production verified.
Series production
A prototype proves the idea. A product has to be assembled, tested and shipped hundreds of times without surprises. We have taken products from prototype into series production and design every board and part so the next unit is as easy to build as the first.
DFM analysis before every production release: automated assembly, component standardisation and cost reduction, resolved together with your PCB and assembly suppliers.DFM analysis before every production release: automated assembly, component standardisation and cost reduction, resolved with your PCB and assembly suppliers.
Enclosures, brackets, fixtures and housings as CNC-machined or 3D-printed parts, designed to fit the board and the assembly process, not the other way round.Enclosures, brackets, fixtures and housings as CNC-machined or 3D-printed parts, designed to fit the board and the assembly process.
Test systems for boards and assemblies, built alongside the product, so the first production batch is tested with the same rigour as the last prototype.
Complete systems built from boards, CNC-machined or 3D-printed mechanics and the parts in between.
Engagement
Projects can start from an idea, from a specification, or from an existing design that needs a second pair of hands.
We take responsibility for one part of your project: the PCB, the firmware, the mechanics or the test system. Your team keeps the rest. Deliverables include design files, source code, test reports and documentation.One part of your project: the PCB, the firmware, the mechanics or the test system. Your team keeps the rest.
Architecture decisions, design reviews, production readiness, EMC risk assessment and obsolescence planning, for your own hardware and firmware.Architecture decisions, design reviews, production readiness, EMC risk and obsolescence planning, for your own hardware and firmware.
From the first idea to series production: requirements, electronics, firmware, mechanics, prototypes, verification, test systems and handover to manufacturing. One partner, one point of contact.From the first idea to series production: requirements, electronics, firmware, mechanics, prototypes, verification, test systems and handover to manufacturing.
Technologies
Microcontrollers
SoC and FPGA hardware
Operating systems
Protocols
High-speed interfaces
Tools
Process
Every phase ends with a deliverable you can review. You can enter at any phase with your own material and leave with documented, reproducible results.
Functional and non-functional requirements, interfaces, standards, cost targets, quantities and risks written down and agreed.Interfaces, standards, cost targets, quantities and risks written down and agreed.
Partitioning between MCU, SoC and Linux, component selection with second sources, power, EMC and mechanical concept.
Schematic, layout, board bring-up, drivers and application firmware on real hardware, with mechanics as machined or printed parts.Schematic, layout, board bring-up, drivers and application firmware on real hardware, with machined or printed mechanics.
Signal integrity, EMC pre-compliance, functional tests and measured results against the requirements.Signal integrity, EMC pre-compliance and functional tests against the requirements.
DFM-checked manufacturing data, test system and documentation for series production.
Questions before a project
Product-level embedded systems: custom electronics and PCB design, real-time firmware and embedded Linux, complete system builds with CNC-machined or 3D-printed mechanics, and the test systems to produce them in series. A project can cover one discipline or the whole product.
Yes. We start from your existing hardware, requirements or codebase. Typical partial engagements are board bring-up, drivers and BSPs, firmware architecture, embedded Linux integration, EMC-driven layout changes, production readiness reviews and debugging of existing devices.
Yes. We build embedded Linux systems with Yocto and Buildroot: board support packages, device tree configuration, kernel drivers and the bare-metal firmware around them, on ARM SoC platforms such as AMD Zynq UltraScale+ and Intel SoC FPGAs.
Yes. Obsolescence management is a core hardware service: drop-in replacement selection, redesign for modern components, cost reduction through component consolidation and alternative sourcing, and long-term availability planning. External interfaces and form factor stay unchanged where the product requires it.
Yes. We design and build test systems for circuit boards and complete assemblies: fixtures and adapters, test software, measurement and reporting. Test points and test coverage are planned in the PCB design, not added afterwards.
Design files, source code, test reports and documentation delivered for your project belong to you at handover. Fermium keeps no rights to the product-specific design.
Contact
Describe the device, the stage you are at and what you need. An engineer reads every inquiry and replies personally.
Patrick Walther
Founder