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www.us-tech.com
May/June, 2012
Flexibility Needed for Future Growth T
By Mark McMeen, STI Electronics, Inc., Madison, AL
he days of build-to-print sub- assemblies are disappearing with the new requirements and
demands that are being placed on con- tract manufacturers (CM). In the future, CMs will be “One Stop Solution Providers” for all things required to design, build, warranty and deliver a complete electronics assembly. The expectation for the CM is to
build complete electronics assemblies (tested and boxed) that are designed and manufactured to meet perform- ance specifications, reliability expec- tations and perform within life expectancies (warranty periods). These new demands on CMs are requiring a new business model and philosophy.
Need for Flexibility CMs of the future must be able
to operate with tremendous flexibili- ty. The CM must be more sophisti- cated and must incorporate certain in-house capabilities and staff:
l Design engineering.
l Component engineering. l Failure analysis labs. l Reliability testing labs. l Test engineering.
l l
Programming production parameters on the STI manufacturing floor.
In-house training classrooms for both industry-specific and custom in-house specifications.
State-of-the-art manufacturing labs and facilities.
STI has been in the process of
morphing itself into the CM of the future, instituting and/or updating each one of these capabilities and
Customers are pushing more of
the design and reliability expecta- tions onto the CM, as well as meeting warranty expectations and objec- tives. These expectations are increas- ing the need for CMs to have expert- ise in the design and engineering dis- ciplines that previously have been done by the customers’ own in-house
follow suit and increase its capabili- ties to meet these expectations and make sure it has the necessary resources in its plant to meet these requirements.
Design and Component Experts In order to survive in today’s
market, CMs will develop or hire in-
attributes over the last six years. This intense change level becomes neces- sary as customer demands and expec- tations for high-reliability, complete box build electronics assemblies increasingly become the norm.
staff. STI believes and embraces the business philosophy of being a “One Stop Solution Provider” as the true role of future contract manufactur- ing. As customers’ demands increase for services of this type, the CM must
house design and component experts capable of testing and validating warranty expectations and reliability objectives as well as the manufactur- ing function that it has always done. STI has and will continue to invest in design and component engineering, full service failure and analytical lab services, and reliability lab services — environment and thermal. In addition, the company has
three state-of-the-art classrooms designed and equipped for lecture, hands-on assembly and solder train- ing as well as full rework and repair capabilities to train in-house person- nel as well as outside customers around the world. The headlong rush to miniatur-
ization of electronics assemblies has created an ongoing need for manu- facturing labs and microelectronic cleanrooms that are have the latest equipment and capabilities. Manufacturing electronic densi-
ties are shrinking and the demand to integrate 0201 and chip-scale pack- ages and bumped die and wire bond- ed die (microelectronic capabilities) on the same assembly are pushing the CM of the future to ultra-dense electronics assemblies and products. These new demands and expecta- tions are driving resurgence in American contract manufacturing. STI has invested in people,
equipment and facilities to be on the forefront of this dynamic business shift to a “One Stop One Solution”
Continued on next page
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