california Archives - Page 6 of 17 - Means Engineering, Inc.

Top Reasons to Partner With a Quality CM

April 19, 2019 By meiadmin

Producing products takes a lot of skill, experience, equipment, and technology. While many business owners have excellent ideas for creating new products, they often do not have the money or resources needed to bring them to market. These companies turn to contract manufacturers to produce part or all of their products. A contract manufacturer creates products under the name or brand of the company that hires them. CMs generally offer a variety of services related to the design, production, and testing of products for a wide range of industries.

There are many benefits to partnering with a contract manufacturer. Below we discuss the top three:

Improve Product Quality

The quality of finished products says a lot about your business. It’s important to ensure all products produced meet or exceed your customers’ expectations. Unfortunately, many companies do not know what it takes to create high quality products. These companies can benefit from partnering with a contract manufacturer.

A contract manufacturer provides a second set of eyes for your design plans. This helps locate areas that could benefit from improvement. Your audience is sure to appreciate the extra time and attention to detail a contract manufacturer takes to ensure the production of high quality, reliable parts and products.

Decrease Costs

In addition to improving product quality, a CM can help discover ways to reduce the cost of production. This might mean switching a type of material or changing a measurement slightly. Whatever the case, your CM can decrease the costs associated with production and logistics.

One of the biggest benefits of working with a CM is that it eliminates the need to purchase or maintain your own facility, equipment, and technology. This saves your company a considerable amount of money over producing products in-house.

Reduce Time to Market

Taking a product from idea to reality takes a lot of trial and error. When you work with an experienced contract manufacturer they can help you get it right in less time than it would take to complete the task yourself. Utilizing the help of an experienced CM allows you to create more products in less time.

Best Practices When Selecting a Medical Device Contract Manufacturer

April 12, 2019 By meiadmin

Contract manufacturers provide a variety of services to businesses across a wide range of industries. When it comes to the medical industry, you must take care to ensure that everyone understands the rules and regulations surrounding medical device creation. Humans often rely on these devices for their health, safety, and well-being. If the device fails, it can lead to serious consequences.

There are numerous benefits to working with a contract manufacturer. An experienced contract manufacturer can typically produce high quality products in less time and for less money than producing products in-house. However, it’s crucial that companies in the medical industry select a contract manufacturer with the skills and experience needed to produce high quality, reliable parts and products.

Ability to Create Complex Devices

Locate a contract manufacturer with the equipment and techniques needed to create complex electronic devices. In order to create the types of products used by the medical industry today, the CM must be competent in more than just basic electro-magnetic assembly.

Adequate Support

Make sure the contract manufacturer you choose can adequately support your project. Locate a contract manufacturer with the skills and people needed to provide a variety of services. It’s much more beneficial to hire a partner that can look over your design plans and help you locate ways to cut costs and improve quality than hiring a CM that simply gets the project done.

You also want to make sure that you choose a CM that can support the entire lifecycle of your product. While some CMs only deal with small development projects, this doesn’t leave much room for growth. If you outgrow your CMs capabilities you might find yourself scrambling to find someone else. You’ll want to avoid this type of situation.

Quality System Requirements

Make sure that you fully understand the quality system requirements for your project. Look for a contract manufacturer with similar quality systems in place. Make sure the CM has a robust method for documenting and executing quality system interfaces.

Means Engineering has years of experience creating devices for the medical industry. Please contact us to learn more.

Top Myths About Working With a Contract Manufacturer

March 29, 2019 By meiadmin

The right contract manufacturer can help your business grow and expand into new markets. A CM acts as your partner, providing a number of services designed to compliment your business and improve customer satisfaction with your brand. Unfortunately, many people go into this partnership with unrealistic expectations. This is due in part to the large number of myths about working with a contract manufacturer. We have listed the top three myths and why you shouldn’t believe what you hear. This is important if you want a successful relationship with your CM.

Always Go With the Lowest Quote

While you might think that selecting the contract manufacturer with the lowest cost per unit is the obvious choice, this isn’t always the case. It’s important to find a contract manufacturer that provides consistent, quality results. They should employ a team of professionals able to create a wide range of products for a variety of industries. This is important if you wish to expand into new markets in the future.

It’s also important to note that the price per unit only captures about 70-80% of the cost of production. Several CMs will add various fees and charges to the final number. Select a contract manufacturer that is up front about the total cost of production. This can save you a considerable amount of trouble later.

Never Work With a Contract Manufacturer That Builds for Your Competition

It’s important that OEMs find the most capable and compatible contract manufacturer to work with. Often times, this will be the same CM their competition uses.

R&D Can Handle Production

Managing manufacturing and the supply chain requires the skill and experience of professionals. Although companies often try to include manufacturing under development, this usually doesn’t pan out well. Companies that attempt to handle everything in-house without the management tools and experience needed rarely succeed.

Means Engineering provides contract manufacturing services for businesses both large and small. Our services include design, production, and testing of a wide range of products. We employ a team of skilled professionals, each experts in their field. Please contact us if you would like more information about our services.

Cyber Attack Awareness – What you Need to Know

March 8, 2019 By meiadmin

Cyber-attacks are on the rise. Attacks are becoming more sophisticated putting organizations of all shapes and sizes at risk. It’s important that organizations learn all they can about the risks of cyber-attacks and how to avoid becoming a victim.

Several industries have implemented rules and regulations to help address the rise of cyber-attacks. These regulations aim to increase the security of electronic devices to prevent attackers from gaining access to sensitive information. This is especially important for organizations creating products for the defense and medical industries.

Companies that produce products for the military must take care to ensure that products comply with the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and other compliance standards. Organizations that do not ensure compliance of all of the products and components face multi-million dollar fines and possible jail time.

Ensuring ITAR Compliance

Any company that manufactures, sells or distributes goods or services covered under the United States Munitions List (USML) must be registered with the State Department’s Directorate of Defense trade Controls (DDTC). These companies must understand and abide by the ITAR as it applies to their USML linked goods or services.

Unfortunately, many businesses fail to meet compliance with the ITAR. This is often due to the fact that ITAR is full of complications that make it easy for companies to make mistakes.

It’s important that organizations take the time necessary to ensure proper licensing of all of the products they produce. These organizations need to invest in training someone in-house to handle the complex compliance process.

Partnering With an Experienced Contract Manufacturer

Organizations that do not have the time, knowledge, or resources needed to ensure compliance can benefit from partnering with an experienced contract manufacturer.

Contract manufacturers understand complex regulation requirements. They have the people and processes in place to ensure compliance with a number of industry standards. Means Engineering has extensive experience designing and producing parts and products for the defense industry. Our team ensures compliance with ITAR and other industry regulations. This protects your company from costly fines, and protects users from cyber-attacks.

Effect of Temperature on the Lifespan and Reliability of Electronics

March 1, 2019 By meiadmin

Electronic devices must be able to perform in a variety of environments. This is especially true for electronic parts and components used by the medical, aerospace, and defense industries. Serious consequences can occur if electronic devices used by these industries fail.

Electronic Design

Reliable electronics begin with efficient design. Designers must consider the type of environment where finished products will be used. This helps determine the appropriate materials, components, packaging, and necessary cooling techniques.

Temperature Control

All electronic components are subject to failure due to overheating. Any increase in temperature can result in a reduced lifespan. This includes increase in temperature due to ambient temperature of the environment, heat produced by the device itself, and the product’s efficiency at heat removal.

There are numerous methods of temperature control. It’s important that designers and manufacturers consider these methods when creating new electronic devices and components. Common cooling techniques include free convection cooling, forced air cooling, and liquid cooling. Each method offers its own unique benefits. The type of cooling technique used will depend on a number of factors based around the intended use of the finished product.

Electronic Device Production

Organizations responsible for the creation of electronic parts and devices for the aerospace, medical, or defense industries must take care to ensure products do not fail due to excessive temperatures. This can be difficult to accomplish without the knowledge, experience, and equipment needed to test products in extreme environments.

Partnering with a quality contract manufacturer can help these companies produce high quality products able to withstand even harsh conditions. Contract manufacturers provide a variety of services including design, production, and testing. At Means Engineering, our testing capabilities allow us to expose electronic parts and devices to a variety of environments. We can test products for reliability underwater, in space, and in extreme temperatures. This allows us to ensure that electronics do not fail when they are needed most.

Our designers can help you determine which cooling techniques your device requires. We have access to the latest tools, equipment, and technology. This makes it possible for us to produce reliable, long-lasting products for a variety of industries.

« Previous Page
1
…
4
5
6
7
8
…
17
Next Page »