Salient Motion's modernized components for the aerospace and defense industry, starting with advanced electric propulsion.
Supply chains in the aerospace and defense sectors are in disarray. Innovation is hindered by legacy suppliers’ outdated hardware, extended lead times, and outsourcing the manufacturing of critical components to Asia. Part shortage issues and the difficulty procuring critical components are challenges that not only impact hardware firms but the American infrastructure as a whole.
Salient Motion, a fast-growing startup founded by engineers Vishaal Mali and Aidan Jenkins, aims to disrupt these industries by designing modernized components for the aerospace and defense industry, starting with advanced electric propulsion. Their revolutionary, software-driven solution removes the need for expensive, unreliable, and hard-to-assemble components, making the manufacturing process faster and more cost-efficient.
Despite being a young company, Salient Motion has already established partnerships with a diverse range of customers in the defense and aerospace sectors, from small drone manufacturers to large vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircrafts.
Salient Motion’s advanced electric propulsion can be incorporated into critical drive systems and leveraged in other aspects, such as motor design, delivering next-generation solutions.
Part of their core technology is integrating insights into its system in a way that hasn’t been done before. The software suite they integrated with the hardware provides real-time data and real-time knowledge around the entire motor and the entire drivetrain.
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Their parameter detection tool helps customers access essential motor operation parameters, such as motor speed, motor current, battery voltage, battery current, and Mosfet temperature. The process would otherwise require manually pairing the motor and motor controller for optimum performance — something that would typically take an engineer days or weeks of time on the test bench to accomplish.
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Moreover, by achieving parity with neodymium magnet motors using ferrite — primarily compromised of abundant iron — Salient Motion’s engineers have managed to significantly reduce costs, enabling them to manufacture locally, in California.
As Vishaal Mali, Co-founder of Salient Motion, explains:
“Our technology enables large companies to outsource a part of manufacturing that previously required a massive team, saving not only time and money but allowing them to focus on their core competencies.”
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The Salient Motion team is driven by the need to build things faster without sacrificing quality and cost-effectiveness, which is reflected in their approach to procurement. From early on, the team was sure of what they wanted to avoid: being slowed down by supply chain and logistics-related issues.
Based on their experience working in other electronics manufacturing firms, slow procurement could seriously hinder production and limit the entire team. Additionally, insufficient storage often led to crucial parts being stored in desks or drawers, which posed a risk of damage: even opening the seal could expose components to humidity and result in the entire batch being wasted.
To eliminate procurement-related bottlenecks, the team has relied on Cofactr from the outset. The platform helps them stay up to date with their inventory and plan ahead for future orders. With just a BOM file exported from Altium, Cofactr provides them with immediate information on components, including specifics, availability, and alternative suppliers.
“Most large hardware companies have huge teams to take care of procurement and logistics. SKU management is no longer a headache — we can do it more efficiently with one person and a single platform.“ — Vishaal Mali, Co-founder of Salient Motion
Salient Motion has been able to expedite its productivity and efficiency, thanks to Cofactr. Using the platform has enabled them to reduce their go-to-market time — from design to shipping to customers — to just 3 weeks. This is remarkable — getting things to customers in such a short time is a previously unheard thing in the hardware industry.
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Salient Motion is changing the game for the aerospace and defense sectors by leveraging new technologies and streamlining processes, driving growth and innovation.
Having successfully built a hardware-software system that can generate full torque from a standstill, - without conventional sensors - the team’s focus for the coming years will be on making the most out of this technology and building subsystems for more specific use cases. Their roadmap includes high-performance sub-assemblies that will accelerate aerospace and defense companies processes and enable building better products, faster.
Together with Cofactr, Salient Motion aims to bring cutting-edge technology and shape the future of the hardware industry.
“Cofactr changes things for the better for hardware companies. Not only does it de-risk the supply chain, but it also makes hardware manufacturing a much more compelling business to be in.” — Vishaal Mali, Co-founder of Salient Motion
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