FEATURE CONTRACT MANUFACTURING & PCBS MAKING INTRODUCTIONS
When outsourcing the manufacture of a new product line, or even just prototypes, it is never too soon to engage with your CEM. Nick Fairhead, sales & marketing director of Speedboard Assembly Services describes how design teams can benefit from early and open discussions with your CEM
design team’s shop floor. Also, the CEM will most likely have dedicated NPI processes in place to support not only the manufacture (in terms of test coverage, build quality, aesthetics etc.) of the new product but also the launch logistics, including assuring time- and volume-to- market targets are met. For example, Speedboard has a four-phase NPI model: Phase 1 – Working with preliminary data, the CEM supports customers with DFM and DFT activities. It also reviews the Bill of Materials (BOM) and secures long lead-time/strategic items against a capped Purchase Order
N
ew Product Introductions (NPIs) are a must for companies competing in
high-tech sectors. However, NPIs face a variety of design and manufacturing challenges because, in order to deliver the features needed to compete in their markets, the products will almost certainly employ high performance electronics. Circuit boards will probably need to be densely populated with ultra-fine-pitch devices, and metal-backed boards and flexi-rigids are proving increasingly popular too in NPIs. Understandably, in pushing the design envelope the manufacturing envelope needs to be pushed too.
PLANNING AHEAD When outsourcing the manufacture of a new product or a prototype, the temptation is to wait until the design is signed off, or close to being so, and then ask a number of CEMs to compete for the work. Though a common practice, this is not particularly efficient and can even be risky (e.g. a potential late launch), costly (e.g. paying a premium to quickly source otherwise long lead-time items) and places unnecessary pressure on the CEM selection process. An experienced CEM will have a wealth of
Design for Manufacture (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT) expertise, amassed over dozens if not hundreds of projects. This expertise is best fed into the NPI lifecycle early on. Indeed, consider how an OEM with its own shop floor operates. Those
32 JULY-AUGUST 2016 | ELECTRONICS
ultimately responsible for test and manufacture would certainly be included in early design meetings. Including a trusted CEM, particularly one geared for NPIs, in early design discussions can pay dividends. If the CEM is independent and privately-owned, it will typically have a very healthy attitude to investing in the latest test and manufacturing equipment, and may be able to suggest techniques and processes of which the design team is unaware; and at a time when it is most convenient to influence the design. For instance, during the last 18 months Speedboard has invested in a Vapour Phase reflow oven and a Selective Soldering line. The CEM justified both investments to support customers with NPIs and to overcome certain manufacturing challenges. Specifically, Vapour Phase (see Electronics, February 2015, page 19) provides much better control and stability over the entire soldering process compared to traditional reflow; irrespective of board characteristics. As for Selective Soldering, it is ideal for complex double-sided, mixed technology PCBs which must be manufactured to the IPC-A-610 Class 3 standard. In addition, the more flexible CEMs are keen to embrace collaborative engagements, as opposed to the traditional transactional approach to business. This facilitates up-front and open discussions, as if the CEM were the
Figure 1:
An experienced CEM can recommend the most appropriate manufacturing techniques such as Vapour Phase (above) to assure consistently high build quality on complex PCBAs
Phase 2 – Working to a final BOM and bare board data, the CEM orders all materials and finalises pricing (including NREs). Manufacturing preparations will include the ordering of stencils and the programming of manufacturing and test equipment
Phase 3 – Fast-track assembly, test, inspection and delivery
Phase 4 – Post manufacture review Of the above, phase 2 followed by phase 3 is close to a typical build-to- print scenario. However, for NPIs and prototyping work, the best results are always achieved when the customer- CEM engagement occurs at phase 1, if risks are to be mitigated and the most cost-effective solution is to be found. Phase 4 is essential if lessons are to be learned from a prototyping project or, in the case of an NPI, a continuous improvement programme is to start.
REACHING TARGETS In many respects, with hitting time- and volume-to-market goals so critical for the success of a new product, test and manufacturing expertise must feed into the NPI lifecycle – and long lead-time items purchased - as soon as possible. If these things do not happen, during the NPI or prototype lifecycle there will be a point when the project transitions from proactive and focussed design work into reactive manufacturing and finding expensive fixes to problems.
Speedboard Assembly Services
www.speedboard.co.uk T: 01753 746700
/ ELECTRONICS
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