Connectors
technologies are considered fromday one of product design. Thismeans every aspect of the power cable product is created tomatch Apple’s stringent design criteria, ensuring components are the right size, shape, style and quality.
But just how cost effective would this approach
be for manufacturers with a less design-conscious approach to product specification? In fact, this strategy is not just about delivering the most innovative design and a better performing end product, although that is certainly a core outcome - it is also about minimizing design iterations to drive down costs. Producing the exceptional data- rates and signal quality required to show high definition (HD) movies on a laptop, for example, requires acute attention to the interconnect cable to the screen. Failure to incorporate an interconnect capable of this specification will not only compromise product performance, but incur heavy costs for late redesign and even replacement of malfunctioned units which could have been otherwise avoided.
Planning ahead Considering the design implications of signal
Industrial connector systems focus on rugged outdoor reliability
interconnects and cable assemblies early in the process is proving essential across a range of products fromMRI scanners to laptops and mobile base-station equipment. This is a complex marketplace and one that offers significant challenges for product design teams. New ISO standards are continually being developed, while environmental regulations, which vary from country to country, have a growing influence on the design process.
Too often companies are developing amazing,
innovative new products with an assumption that interconnects and cable assemblies are just standard components that can be plugged in. As a result, issues from signal integrity to safety concerns and environmental demands leave the manufacturer either facing an expensive custom design from a component supplier or a significant redesign of the core product.
This piecemeal strategy can result in significant
costs, both in additional design work and the lost opportunities associated with a delay in getting the product to market.
Missed opportunity
By failing to effectively pre-empt these issues as part of the core design process,manufacturers are also failing tomaximize the available technology. For example, the right signal cable and/or interconnect willminimize resistance and hence use less power.
Utilizing this technology within the core design will enable a laptopmanufacturer to advertise a greater battery life to
customers.Meanwhile, organizations running large data centers canminimize the cost of cooling systems andmeet CSR objectives and financial institutions can reduce latency to improve time-sensitive deal-making.
This technology is available at any time. Any
manufacturer can decide to incorporate halogen- free cables, for example, to support initiatives for greener technology, or ensure technology designed for children does not include carcinogenic materials. But at what cost in both additional design requirements and slower time tomarket?
By considering the opportunities early in the
design phase and enabling product designers to consult component experts as part of the day to day design process,manufacturers canmaximize differentiation opportunities,minimize product iterations and get new, innovative solutions to market earlier and at a lower overall cost to design.
Extending the chain
Furthermore, by engaging component suppliers early in the design processmanufacturers also have an opportunity to further improve supply chain processes. Component suppliers can provide insight into product costing and time tomarket. They also have the chance to ensure production facilities with local expertise and cultural understanding are in place to support themanufacturer’s global strategy and deliver the agility demanded bymanufacturers continually striving to improve performance and drive down costs.
And this is key:whilst organizations are looking to
improve safety,meet environmental regulation and deliver design innovation, costwill always be the fundamental consideration. It is by extending the supply chain to include component suppliers at the beginning of the design process thatmanufacturers can exploit technologies tomaximize product differentiation, achieve evenmore agile manufacturing processes and deliver products to market faster and at a lower cost than ever before.
www.volex.com Annual Edition 2011 | 51
Volex Group’s senior vice president, Jeff Bierman encourages dialog between designers, buyers and suppliers
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