TISCHLER RESOURCES
Teams for Product Design and Development (978) 264-4220
neil@tischlerresources.com


Neil Tischler, Principal

As an independent consultant since 1978, I provide electronic packaging, mechanical engineering, and project management services for new product design. Clients benefit from my early background as a stress analyst, my eye for detail, and over 25 years of experience creating products that are easily fabricated, assembled, and serviced. Working closely with each client’s staff, I treat the vital issues of structure, component placement, cooling, EMI, cabling, and user ergonomics to ensure well integrated solutions. Rapid prototyping technologies are routinely employed to reduce development times.

When turnkey product designs require broader system conceptualization or higher level aesthetics and ergonomics, I team with talented industrial designers. They resolve the concept issues and create the stylish appearances, user interfaces, and custom graphics. Together we design the fabricated parts in plastic and metal and work with selected vendors to produce prototype units.  As a matter of good practice,  I generally involve an EMI specialist early on to determine what shielding is necessary in the enclosure.

A sampling of projects...

Sternum Closure Device
  • SuturTek's 360° Sternum Closure DeviceTM eliminates the difficulty and danger of closing the sternum manually simply with the push of a button. A steam-sterilized outer Handle seals a removable battery-powered motor module inside. The surgeon snaps a sterile needle cartridge onto the front end, positions the device against the sternum, and presses a button to drive a standard needle with attached sternal wire cleanly through. (http://www.suturtek.com/SC/)
SuturTek 360° Sternum Closure DeviceTM
  • Abiomed’s AB5000TM Circulatory Support System "provides temporary support for one or both sides of the natural heart in circumstances where the heart has failed, giving the patient’s heart the opportunity to rest and potentially recover."  This complex battery-backed-up electronics device is constructed of sheet metal and machined parts with plastic skins, over-molded metal and cast urethane parts. The AB 5000 passed the severe helicopter transport and UL medical equipment tests on the first try. This was the second consecutive generation of this product we were hired to design.  Industrial design and project lead by Michael Cattafe Associates, Inc.  (http://www.cattafe.com/)


  • AS&E’s BodySearchTM enclosure for their backscatter contraband detection system which detects items hidden in or under people’s clothing. Designed in 1995, this system is in greater use today. (http://www.as-e.com/)
 Abiomed AB 5000 System

AB5000TM Circulatory Support System
Medtronic Smart Magnet
  • A small battery-powered Smart-MagnetTM for Medtronic Inc. providing safe management of patients' ICD devices during surgical procedures. Despite the heavy internal permanent magnet, our injection-molded enclosure exceeded all requirements for drops to the operating room floor.

  • Various enclosures for the networking startups of Brix Networks, AmberWave (sold to US Robotics /3COM in 1996), NetICs (sold to Bay Networks/Nortel in 1996), plus major cost-reduction for Nashoba Networks (sold to Cisco Systems in 1996), two projects for Prominent Corp (sold to Lucent in 1997), and multiple projects for New Oak Communications (sold to Bay Networks/Nortel in 1998).
Medtronic Smart-MagnetTM
  • Generations of electronic Holter Recorders for Northeast Monitoring Inc. Each new model reduced overall size while improving ruggedness. (Mark Hubelbank, a founder, is my oldest continuous client; we first worked together on a heart monitoring product in 1983.) (http://www.nemon.com/)

  • Prototype body-worn biosensors for a variety of FitSense Technologies Inc. RF-linked devices, since 1998. (See more at http://www.fitsense.com/)
 Northeast Holter Recorder

Northeast Monitoring Holter Recorder
Engineering Matters Joystick
  • A line of force feedback joysticks for Engineering Matters, Inc. that required careful attention to manufacturing technology costs, understanding of the electromagnetic forces so a proper structural support system could be designed, and accurate mechanical assembly. (http://www.engineeringmatters.com/)  One direct drive joystick won an R&D 100 award for being one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace in 2005.

  • PixelVision's color flat panel systems, often with integrated touch sensors and X-terminals or embedded PC's in thin (under 3.75") packages. In 1993, we designed the first generation of these space-efficient systems that were hung on overhead arms at the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. (You see these units each evening on the nightly business reports.)

  • The Trotter 645/640 treadmill series for high-volume manufacturing with improved modularity for lower cost, ease of assembly, and servicing. Major parts were designed in sheet metal, structural foam, and tubular steel weldments.
Engineering Matters Game Stick
  • A custom laboratory equipment cart for PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences that exactly meets the rigidity, ventilation, and ease of component servicing requirements for their precision tabletop devices.

  • Leaf System's LeafaxTM, the world's first portable 35mm electronic darkroom, which revolutionized the worldwide photojournalism industry in 1988. Well before today’s digital cameras, it combined a precision 1200 dpi line scanner, custom electronics, keyboard, monitor, and fax modem in an attaché case, with key parts injection molded for lower cost, parts consolidation, and weight reduction.
 PerkinElmer Lab Cart

PerkinElmer Cart

I look forward to your next product development challenge, be it a cart-based operating room product, a handheld detection device, a rack-mounted electronics product, or a body-worn RF medical biosensor.

Member of SolidWorks Manufacturing NetowrkMy 1500 ft2 office in Acton houses a conference room/library, design area, and model shop. I use SolidWorks 3D solid modeling software which allows me to communicate and coordinate concept images and technical design data with anyone, anywhere. I am a member of the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network.

From 1968 to 1978, I was employed in engineering analysis and design positions at Magnetic Corporation of America, BLH Electronics, Teledyne Engineering Services, and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. My degrees are a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College ‘66 Schenectady, NY, and a Master of Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University ’68 College Park, PA. I am a long-time member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Neil Tischler
Tischler Resources
35 Nash Road
Acton, MA 01720-2723

(978) 264-4220
neil@tischlerresources.com
www.TischlerResources.com

PS  I also enjoy close-up nature photography of flowers, birds, and other natural subjects.  I invite you to see the resulting images at  www.neiltischler.com.