This technician is working on automatic test equipment that works much like bench test gear in an MRO’s back shop. It tests components on a per-pin basis by simulating the conditions in which the component must normally operate.


The U.S. Department of Defense refers to the parts obsolescence issue as DMSMS (diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages). Not surprisingly, when a system such as a radio, radar or display is fielded and needs support, the production of the original parts it encases likely is long past. Small orders, say, for fewer than 100 parts, often indicate a maintenance requirement. When the primary sources of electronic components run dry, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of avionics must seek other parts providers, either to continue producing their airborne systems or to support their systems or both. At the same time, they also must brace for the possible infestation of bogus parts. One way to avoid bogus electronic components in the supply chain is to have them thoroughly examined and tested. To learn about the bogus electronic part problem, Aviation Maintenance traveled to Wichita, Kan., to visit Integra Technologies. Nestled inconspicuously among shopping plazas in the city’s bustling northeast quadrant, it is one of the world’s largest labs equipped to evaluate electronic components. Mark Marshall, vice president of engineering, tells us about the sources of bogus electronic parts and how his company detects their inauthenticity.


28 Aviation Maintenance | avm-mag.com | May 2013


When Parts Run Out The manufacturing cycles of most electronic parts are “driven by their use in commodity-based, consumer products,” says Marshall. He notes that the turnover of items such as laptops, computer tablets and smart phones has reached a fever- pitch pace compared to that of airborne systems, which must be tested extensively, certified and potentially used for many years. And while the industrial and automobile markets may be large enough to entice electrical parts manufacturers to lengthen their production runs on some components, the aviation industry is not, Marshall asserts. “For them, the aviation market is just too small.” The only recourse for avionics OEMs is to stock up. An electronic component manufacturer commonly issues a product change notice (PCN), announcing when it will no longer produce a certain part. OEMs that incorporate the part in their systems usually then make last-time buys (LTBs), purchasing the part in large quantities. So crucial is the need to stock up adequately that most manufacturers of critical electronic systems supplement their supply-chain management expertise with the forecast services of the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering


(CALCE), which exists within the University of Maryland’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Among other offerings, CALCE has developed algorithms used to predict the date for an electronic part’s obsolescence. However, with all input and calculations made, electronic systems manufacturers’ parts inventory still may fall short. “And sometimes overzealous [inventory] managers decide prematurely that they don’t want their inventory, and they get rid of it,” Marshall adds.


At this point, an avionics manufacturer must look to “secondary sources,” or parts brokers, for obsolete components. Generally, brokers buy up unused parts from the manufacturers, “probably for pennies on the dollar,” says Marshall. “They stock the inventory, hoping that someday somebody will need the components.” In some cases, the broker does not stock parts but serves as an agent who can find sources for components. “Brokers can range from very sophisticated, very capable organizations to, literally, one person with a phone,” says Marshall.


Made in China Determining the true source of an electronic part may be tricky, and


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