News: Rochester Electronics
6 tips on planning for and avoiding the costs of obsolescence
Rochester Electronics shares the best methods for successfully planning for and minimizing obsolescence costs
1. Obsolescence management begins phases.
We have all heard stories of products being launched with obsolete components. This is a particularly relevant issue for customers with lengthy development and qualification cycles. Choosing the right component technology and supplier can have dramatic impacts on long-term availability. The lowest cost sources may not be the best choice for long-term supply.
Key questions:
What is the component’s lifecycle status across the application’s lifetime?
Are the key components of the design comprehensively documented?
Can the true design files be retained and archived at the design phase to offer a chance of rebuilding, if the unexpected happens? Does the design contain proprietary intellectual property?
2. Understanding the total costs of obsolescence
It is important to understand and model the costs and risks associated with obsolescence.
Key questions:
Does the project plan need to include anticipated product refresh or redesign during its life? If yes, how will it be funded? How will the business account for the capital locked down in long-term component sourcing? What will the component obsolescence impact be on after-sales service commitments? What effect would a shortened product lifecycle have on your customers and end-users
3. Planning for obsolescence and resource management If your equipment has long qualification, production, or in-service lives you will face component obsolescence. Best-in-class organizations devote skilled multi-disciplined workers to obsolescence management. Preventative planning can reduce or eliminate cost and risk.
6 June 2023
4. Identify important Product Discontinuation Notices (PDNs) that monitor them.
Proactively monitoring component lifecycles is crucial to anticipating problems before they occur. Excellent commercial tools are available which track a component’s lifecycle, lead-times, and specification changes. Such tools provide alerts that can be triggered when PDNs are issued.
Key questions:
Will your sub-tier suppliers share their BOMs?
Do your sub-tier suppliers have adequate obsolescence management processes in place? While many Component Electronics Manufacturers offer proactive component lifecycle management as a service, others are completely reactive. PDN notifications are typically only aimed at the direct purchasers of the component of the last 2 years.
5. Last Time Buy (LTB) – What to forecast?
Forecasting is not an exact science, and it is likely that forecasts will be inaccurate. It is difficult to anticipate product needs years in advance or possible market disruptions. Underestimating needs has a risk of prematurely terminating a product. Overestimating needs ties up unnecessary capital in stock and excessive storage costs. If a redesign in the future is planned to limit the cost of the LTB, then the design,
Components in Electronics
requalification, and the opportunity costs of using engineering resources all need to be factored in.
6. Purchase from 100% authorized sources
There is a misconception when a component is discontinued, that unauthorized, or grey market sources are the only option. The risk-free option of an authorized after-market supplier should always be the first choice. The risks of counterfeit and poor-quality components from unauthorized sources represent a significant risk to production yields and Mean Time Between Failure Rates (MTBR) in the field. Inferior or substandard testing by unauthorized 3rd parties provides a false veneer of confidence that authenticity can be tested. This mimicry of testing is a visual, an x-ray, or a poor partial copy of the original manufacturer’s test processes. Full tri-temp testing is rarely offered, and the risk of commercial-grade components being re-marked as industrial, automotive, or military parts is always possible.
Unauthorized component risks include:
Poor handling: resulting in ESD damage and the destruction of the device.
Poor storage: excessive heat, cold, or moisture during any part of its storage life. Risks include external lead corrosion, failed solderability, moisture ingress and/ or a catastrophic failure of the device. Fake documentation that mimics
the original specification or lies about performed tests. Recovered, re-marked, or repackaged components masquerading as another product.
There are also documented quality problems related to foreign chemicals. Cleaning chemicals used to recover, wash, and re-mark used components, slowly migrate into the products, shorting and corroding bond wires, and pads. Superficial testing is not guaranteed to find these faults. Recovered components may not only pass these tests, but also survive for a period in service. However, their inevitable failures will destroy MTBR figures, and result in reduced reliability and damaged reputations. Original Components Manufacturers (OCMs) do not provide guarantees for products purchased through unauthorized channels.
Fully authorized distributors, like Rochester Electronics, are compliant with the SAE Aerospace Standard, AS6496. Simply stated, they are authorized by the OCM to provide traceable and guaranteed products with no quality or reliability testing required because the parts are sourced from the OCM. Providers who are not fully authorized may market themselves as AS6171/4-compliant. While better than no compliance at all, if AS6171/* testing is offered in isolation, this potentially indicates that the parts were not sourced directly from the OCM but have only passed AS6171 testing. This merely minimizes but does not eliminate risk. As a licensed semiconductor manufacturer, Rochester also offers on-going solutions using information and technology transferred directly to Rochester from the OCM. All the resulting product is 100% certified, licensed, guaranteed.
Expect and plan for the unexpected. It is more vital than ever before to have partners who can support businesses during unforeseen or unplanned component discontinuations, completely risk-free whenever they occur.
www.rocelec.com
www.cieonline.co.uk
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