Honeywell UDC Controller Line

The Honeywell UDC Controller line was a replacement for a series of independent controller products that had evolved over many years. Advancing technologies and offshore competition created pressure to reduce cost and unify the line of products through effective industrial design using our new product development best practices. The Bresslergroup industrial design company determined through competitive research and usability study that significant product differentiation could be established through effective interface design. One of the largest development challenges was the requirement to meet a Nema 4 water resistance standard. Observations and interviews in industrial environments around our client's facilities in Pennsylvania and beyond were conducted to fill out the new product line specification.

Imagine
Bresslergroup's industrial design and engineering team proposed an injection molded polycarbonate interface panel that would be either over-molded or clad with an elastomeric skin to provided sealing for the keypad. The elastomeric skin would also be captured between the casework and mounting panel to meet the Nema 4 water resistance requirements.

Implement
Utilizing the new product development best practices, both the Bresslergroup and Honeywell industrial design companies worked in concert to finalize and resolve the design issues related to the novel enclosure sealing technique. User interface also featured a combination of hard and soft keys to simplify the control panel and minimize parts.

Impact
The UDC controller line has become Honeywell's longest selling and most successful line of process controllers. Our client, then Director of Engineering, participated in the celebration of the sale of the one millionth unit. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved though our new product development best practices.