Research & Design

AET is a design driven company with a "customer first" mentality. Every product is meticulously engineered. Our many years of experience in the tough environment of the U.S. Auto Industry have taught us how to create world class products that will stand up to any environmental conditions, meet tough budget constraints, and be easy to use.

Each system we develop is taken through an exhaustive product development process.

First, we Research the needs of our customer and develop a product specification that will drive our development activities. This specification includes design requirements such as size and weight, cost targets, and system performance requirements.

Next, we brainstorm ideas for the new product design and prepare Concept Sketches using 3-D CAD software.

After we’ve selected the best potential design concept, we conduct Design Simplification Workshops to refine the many seemingly small details that will assure a robust, cost effective design that will be easy to work with at the project site. These workshops have produced numerous creative ideas which we have patented.

Once we’ve completed our design, we use sophisticated computer Analysis tools to simulate the real-world conditions our system will be exposed to. These conditions include wind loading, PV panel loading, and exposure to the elements.

After we’ve completed our analysis, we create a Final Production Design that will be produced by one of our manufacturing partners. This design is created in 3-D CAD that will be transmitted to our production tooling suppliers to assure that the production tooling matches the product design requirements.

We build prototype samples of our design that replicate what we will be producing, and then put these parts through a rigorous set of Final Validation Tests. These tests are conducted under our supervision by independent laboratories. Final test reports are prepared to document the test results, and where appropriate Professional Engineer sign-offs are included.

We send our engineers to project sites to witness installations of our products and support our customers. The Feedback we get from visiting job sites is invaluable to us as we continually refine our products and develop new products.

Manufacturing

AET is located in the hotbed of automotive manufacturing. The Southeast Michigan/Northwest Ohio region has supported the auto industry for over a hundred years with outstanding facilities and capabilities that enable the manufacture of any type of product. Local manufacturers are aggressively realigning these capabilities in support of the renewable energy industry.

We have developed strong partnerships with several well established manufacturers who can support our needs with quick turn-around, flexible volumes, and world class quality.

AET manufacturing quality engineers are in residence at each of the plants that build product for us. They personally sign off on the quality of each product we ship.