Case Study: US Medical Device Startup Achieves Miniaturization Goals with BONENS 3006 Ultra-Compact Trimmers

Client Profile: A Silicon Valley-based medical device startup developing a next-generation portable blood analysis device for point-of-care diagnostics in clinics, emergency rooms, and remote healthcare settings.

Challenge

The startup's portable analyzer design faced severe PCB space constraints: the entire analog signal conditioning board measured just 45mm × 28mm, leaving minimal room for calibration components. The device required precision voltage references for its photometric measurement channels, with sub-1% calibration accuracy needed to meet FDA 510(k) clinical accuracy requirements. Standard-sized trimmer potentiometers could not fit the available PCB area, and the engineering team was considering costly and time-consuming digital calibration alternatives that would add 6-8 months to the development schedule.

BONENS Solution

Sichuan Qixing proposed the BONENS 3006 ultra-miniature multi-turn cermet trimmer potentiometer — the smallest multi-turn trimmer in the BONENS portfolio. The 3006's compact through-hole package fit within the available PCB space while providing the multi-turn adjustment precision required for accurate voltage reference calibration. Comprehensive documentation including material composition declarations and reliability test data supported the client's FDA submission documentation package.

Results

The BONENS 3006 solution enabled the startup to meet its calibration accuracy requirements while avoiding a 7-month development delay and $12.40 per-unit BOM cost increase from digital calibration. The device received FDA 510(k) clearance on schedule and entered production with BONENS 3006 as a sole-source calibration component.