Sealite Research and Development
Manufacturing Capabilities
The Sealite team is dedicated to servicing the marine industry through the efficient design and production of leading-edge products.
Through close working relationships, marine authorities and private customers around the globe now trust Sealite to enhance the safety of their operations.
The company is a technology leader in the design and development of marine navigation aids, including solar marine lighting, buoyage systems, bridge & barge lights, and general products to enhance marine navigation.
Part of Sealite’s business philosophy is to invest in state-of-the-art equipment to achieve superior efficiencies and the highest levels of quality control.
Keeping the manufacturing process in-house achieves better value for customers, superior quality standards and faster delivery than many of our competitors. Sealite’s manufacturing process includes experienced electronics and software engineers, a skilled production team, cutting edge machinery and first rate QA procedures.
Some of Sealite’s key capabilities include:
- World-class manufacturing plant
- Manufactures in excess of 30,000 navigation aids per year
- In-house SMT Electronics assembly line
- In-house rotational-molding capabilities
- In-house tooling design and manufacture
- In-house injection molding capabilities
- ISO9001:2008 registered
- Victorian Manufacturer of the Year
- Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame inductee
- Duke’s Choice Award Winner
Design
To service the needs of our customers worldwide,
Sealite employs an in-house team of professional engineers who design and develop the products to exacting standards and industry requirements.
Mechanical, structural and optic systems are developed from concept to completion. The remarkable design skill of Sealite’s engineers ensures
the characteristics of each product are extensively researched and, as a result, offer advanced features which greatly enhance performance and operation.
Surface Mount Technology (SMT)
Sealite’s in-house surface mount assembly line
is an automated system which is used for high speed and precision placement of electronic components onto printed circuit boards (PCB).
This allows Sealite to control every aspect of the construction and testing of the purpose built PCBs. Sealite has adopted SMT as a fast
and accurate way to manufacture circuit boards for high-volume marine lighting. As a result, our LED light drivers and microcontroller
boards are built using an automated system which increases production rates, reduces labour costs and results in products with an
increased level of reliability over traditional fixtures. The extremely small size of SM components allows them to be placed on both
sides of the circuit board. This has allowed us to reduce the size of the boards in the products and therefore produce lights which are
remarkably compact in size. Circuit boards made using this technology also perform better when used in conditions where shake and
vibration are a factor.
Electronics
After the components are loaded on the circuit board
in the SMT line they then move into the ESD (electrostatic discharge) protected electronics rooms where skilled technicians calibrate,
test and program the lights to customer specifications.
Photometric Testing
Of key importance in building navigational aids
is the compliance to industry photometric requirements.
Sealite’s testing laboratory allows the design and evaluation of products to comply with local and international requirements such as IALA.
Sealite is able to quickly and accurately validate the horizontal and vertical light distribution, and peak intensity of the products to
ensure they consistently meet and exceed industry standards.
Environmental Testing
Sealite products are subjected to comprehensive environmental tests
including icing, salt spray, shock and vibration, ESD and temperature to guarantee superior performance in the harshest environments.
Quality Control
All Sealite’s products are manufactured under a process that complies with ISO9001:2008 conditions for quality assurance, and continual process improvement. They are subjected to strict quality control procedures to ensure that each and every product will meet or exceed customer expectations before they are dispatched. Throughout every stage of production each product undergoes testing and raw material batching – ensuring clear traceability through the build cycle, and minimising interruptions to our clients.
Assembly
All Sealite lights are assembled to exacting
standards and strict guidelines.
Once the technicians complete construction of the circuit boards the production team then assemble the lights and perform a series of final
inspections prior to dispatch. Every high-intensity marine light processes through a 24 hour burn-in test, whereby proprietary software is
used to cycle the lights through a series of operating conditions repeatedly over a 24 hour period. This is just one of the final inspection
tests performed on every product we build.
Tool Design & Production
Sealite operates a tool design and production facility
for plastic injection moulding tools. This allows for accelerated product innovations from concept, prototype to final production.
Rotational-moulding
Sealite Pty Ltd, has over 25 years
experience in building products for long term deployment in some of the harshest conditions known.
The products are built to withstand extreme elements of icing, cyclonic winds, salt-spray, prolonged UV exposure and tropical humidity.
The Sealite buoy division provides turn-key production of navigation aids, from tooling development, raw material selection and production,
to final testing and inspection. Keeping this entire process in-house allows us to guarantee the superior quality of the products we
put the Sealite name on. Sealite is one of the only full-line navigation aid producers to manufacture marine buoys on-site with
state-of-the-art rotational moulding equipment.
In-house manufacturing allows us to ensure marine buoys are robust and able to
withstand the severest of conditions. Rotational moulding is a process used for manufacturing plastic parts of complex shapes and
varying sizes. Sealite’s rotational-moulding machinists are specialists in their field and are highly skilled in this craft ensuring
that every piece they produce is strong, robust and able to survive the elements for many years. Once products are moulded, Sealite
staff measure the wall-thickness of each buoy in critical areas by ultrasound – just part of the extensive quality procedures we put
into every product. The award winning lenses produced by Sealite are moulded on in-house, modern injection machines ensuring superior
optical performance.
Inventory
To service the often 'urgent need' requirements of our customers,
Sealite maintains a working inventory of finished goods. In emergency cases, products can be shipped within 24hrs of order placement, for destinations around the world.
Sealite also has key relations with Defence departments who have selected our systems as their expedient deployment standard.
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