meiadmin, Author at Means Engineering, Inc.

3 Things to Look For When Choosing an Electronics Contract Manufacturer

April 24, 2020 By meiadmin

Using an electronics contract manufacturer provides numerous benefits. In addition to reduced costs and production time, the right CM can help improve the quality and consistency of every product produced. This has the added benefit of increasing consumer trust in your brand, helping you sell more products and expand your business through word of mouth and referrals. However, it’s important to note that not all CM’s are created equal. While an experienced electronics CM can act as a valuable partner, an inexperienced CM may not be able to deliver on their promises. This is why it’s so important to take the time necessary to find the right contract manufacturer to work with. This can save you a lot of trouble in the future.

Quality

Perhaps the most important factor to consider when choosing an electronics contract manufacturer, adequate quality control helps prevent defects during production that could impact the quality or functionality of the finished product. In order to determine the quality of your CM’s quality management program, you need to verify that the company is leveraging critical quality tools including continuous KPI tracking, line-side visual management systems, quality certifications (ISO 9001/AS 9100), and a document management system.

Industries Served

Practically every industry uses electronic devices. However, each industry has their own unique requirements. It’s important to locate a contract manufacturer that has experience working with your industry. This is especially true for the medical, defense, and aerospace industries. Devices created for these industries are often used for critical operations. As such, they must comply with strict requirements.

Responsiveness

Communication is an extremely important part of your relationship with your CM. Make sure that the CM you choose isn’t so big or overwhelmed that they cannot provide you with the attention you deserve. It’s also important to find a CM that can respond quickly to your needs. Sometimes design and production plans change. You need to ensure your CM will respond appropriately.

You have many factors to consider when choosing a contract manufacturer. However, ensuring the CM you choose meets the criteria above can help ensure a successful and long-lasting relationship.

Means Engineering offers contract manufacturing services to businesses and government agencies. Please contact us for information about our services.

Top 5 Challenges Faced By Electronics Manufacturers

April 17, 2020 By meiadmin

Technology changes extremely fast. This creates challenges for those responsible for the creation of electronic devices. In order to remain successful in today’s market, electronics companies need to be both flexible and quick. They must also be able to overcome existing and future challenges in the electronics market.

Dwindling Margins

The electronics industry remains one of the most competitive markets in the world. Global competition combined with emerging innovations and technology continue to drive prices down, reducing operating margins significantly. In order to remain profitable, companies must continuously improve processes and become more cost-efficient.

Complex Global Supply Chain

Companies often source components from several different sources. In fact, it’s not uncommon for components to visit multiple countries before reaching their final destination. This creates challenges for electronics manufacturers that must prove compliance with national standards.

Limited Product Lifecycles

As technology changes so do consumer preferences. In order to keep up, electronics manufacturers need to have effective New Product Introduction (NPI) processes in place.

Changing Demand

Consumer demand fluctuates all the time. Economic downturn can cause reduced sales and decreased demand for new products. Alternatively, consumer preference can cause spikes in demand, making it difficult for electronics manufacturers to keep up. It’s crucial that electronics manufacturers have efficient lean capacities in place to keep inventory aligned with consumer demand.

Sustainability

Electronics companies today must consider multiple factors when designing new products. As consumers and government agencies focus more on product disposal and its impact on the environment, companies need to consider complete product lifecycles.

Southern California Contract Manufacturer

Companies looking to create electronic products could benefit from consulting with an experienced contract manufacturer. The right CM could help these companies overcome several of the challenges mentioned in this blog post. In addition to reducing costs and time to market of new products, an electronics CM can also help electronics companies keep up during periods of high demand.

Contract manufacturers like Means Engineering offer a variety of services. Contacting a CM provides access to experienced individuals able to provide advice on a wide range of issues commonly experienced by electronics manufacturers.

Please contact us for more information about our contract manufacturing services.

It’s Time to Start Focusing on Growing Your Business!

April 10, 2020 By meiadmin

Companies around the United States are scrambling to figure out how to keep their businesses afloat. For companies that produce electronic devices and products, competition is at an all-time high. If these businesses want to succeed, they need to focus on reaching as many people as possible. Unfortunately, many businesses spend all of their time and budget manufacturing products in-house. While this offers a high level of control over production, it doesn’t leave much room for marketing and other efforts aimed at growing your business.

There Are Numerous Advantages To Using An Experienced CM

Using a contract manufacturer not only reduces cost and time to market, it allows management to focus on core competencies like sales and marketing. By putting more effort into reaching the public through social media and other methods, businesses can experience significant growth, especially with so many people working from home. This could mean the difference between success and failure in these uncertain times.

In addition to freeing up time and resources, using a CM for part or all of production makes it possible for businesses to increase their product line and bring new products to market faster. The right CM also helps ensure products meet high standards for quality and performance, improving public opinion and trust.

Gaining access to experienced staff and state-of-the-art equipment and machinery is another benefit of utilizing an experienced contract manufacturer. CMs often invest a significant amount of time and money to obtain highly qualified people and top-rated equipment.

Even businesses that have everything they need to produce a wide range of products can benefit from partnering with a contract manufacturer. CMs can help fulfill periods of high demand and provide a second set of eyes for design plans. When used during the design process, CMs can spot areas that could benefit from improvement that might have otherwise gone unnoticed by those closest to the project. Even small changes made by the CM could potentially save the business a significant amount of time and money on production.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes can benefit from working with an experienced contract manufacturer. In addition to improving quality and reducing costs, CMs enable management to focus on what really matters – growing their business!

Reducing Component End-Of-Life Risks

April 3, 2020 By meiadmin

Component end-of-life (EOL) is a common problem with electronics manufacturing. During the design process, designers must consider the likelihood that specific components will be discontinued at some point during production. Unfortunately, there’s often no way to know when the manufacturer of certain components will run out of stock or discontinue production. When this occurs, companies that rely on these components to create their product face rising costs and costly redesign when the component manufacturer eventually runs out of stock.

Although EOL can impact all industries, it tends to hit highly regulated industries like medical and defense much harder. This is because companies responsible for the creation of products for these industries must gain certification for each product they produce. Even small changes to the design can necessitate an expensive and time-consuming re-certification process.

Ideally, designers should only select components they know will be around for quite some time. Fortunately, there are a few things designers can look for when determining component EOL.

Supplier Reputation

When choosing components for use in an electronic device, it’s important to look at the reputation of the supplier. A reputable supplier will stand behind their components. Another factor to consider is the number of suppliers offering the specific component. It’s much riskier if the component used only has one supplier. With more than one supplier, there’s always a back-up if one or more goes out of business.

Avoid Counterfeits

Counterfeit components often enter the market as parts become harder to source. Although companies are often tempted to purchase counterfeits, doing so can negatively affect the quality of finished products. This is another reason why it’s extremely important that designers make sure they purchase components from a reputable source.

Consult a Contract Manufacturer for Advice

Although there isn’t any guarantee that components will remain available forever, an experienced electronics contract manufacturer like Means Engineering can provide information about reliable sources and components. Contract manufacturers deal with suppliers on a daily basis and can provide valuable advice on potential EOLs. The earlier you consult with an experienced CM the better equipped you’ll be in the future.

Understanding In-Circuit Testing

March 27, 2020 By meiadmin

Electronics manufacturers must take necessary precautions to ensure nothing goes wrong with finished products. This is especially important for manufacturers creating devices for the medical, aerospace, and defense industries. Even devices made for other industries require careful assembly if manufacturers wish to avoid costly rebuilds, repairs, and recalls.

In order to ensure proper operation of all parts and components, electronics manufacturers must continuously test throughout production. Using a wide range of tests at different parts of the process helps ensure the quality and reliability of all finished products.

One of the most commonly used tests, in-circuit testing (ICT), helps ensure contract manufacturers and OEMs consistently meet defined parameters during production. ICT provides valuable information about problems with the board. This can prove extremely beneficial as most issues with electronic devices occur because of short circuits, wrong components, and open circuits on the board.

How it Works

ICT relies on a special test fixture, commonly referred to as “bed of nails” because it contains multiple contact pins. The contact pins come in contact with circuit nodes on the printed circuit board (PCB) to measure performance of the components. ICT allows contract manufacturers to measure various parameters including resistance, capacitance, and the operation of analog components. ICT is also sometimes used to measure functionality of digital circuits. However, full testing of circuit functionality isn’t usually feasible due to circuit complexity.

Benefits of ICT

When performed correctly, ICT can catch around 98% of faults with the board. Test results provided by ICT are easy to interpret. This makes it possible for manufacturers of all skillsets to locate problems quickly. Programming an in circuit tester is extremely easy. Electronics manufacturers can use information provided in the PCB layout to generate most of the program.

Disadvantages of ICT

Although ICT remains one of the most popular printed circuit board testing methods, it’s not without its disadvantages. As the size of components shrink, it’s becoming more difficult for manufacturers to gain access to all nodes on the board. This can lead to unreliable test results.

Contract manufacturers and OEMs must rely on a number of different testing methods to ensure the quality of finished products. This is especially important for those responsible for the creation of potentially life-saving products. Although ICT provides an effecting method for testing PCBs, it’s important that electronics manufacturers use additional tests to determine the quality and reliability of circuit boards.

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