CM Archives - Page 19 of 30 - Means Engineering, Inc.

Is it Time for Your Business to Use a Contract Manufacturer?

March 22, 2019 By meiadmin

Every business owner has the dream of creating the perfect product. However, making this dream a reality is often much harder than believed. Taking an idea from prototype to production can take years of expensive trial and error for companies that attempt to handle the manufacturing themselves.

Sometimes companies find they simply do not have the people or resources needed to keep up with demand. This is especially true for organizations responsible for the creation of electronic parts and components.

For most businesses, giving up simply isn’t an option. These businesses can benefit significantly from enlisting the help of a qualified contract manufacturer.

Experienced contract manufacturers have the tools, equipment, and knowledge needed to create high quality products. These companies often have years of experience and employ industry experts, each prepared to provide their assistance if the project requires. Contract manufacturers take extra care to ensure products are completed to exact specifications and requirements. When involved in the design process, they can even suggest ways to reduce costs and increase the quality of the finished project.

There are a few things you’ll need to consider before seeking the help of a contract manufacturer:

Will People Buy Your Product?

Perform market research or ask people through social media whether they would be interested in your product. This can help ensure you create something consumers actually want. Consider asking your contract manufacturer what they think of your product. Accept their suggestions for adding or removing features to improve the functionality of your product. Remember, these are industry experts with years of experience.

Design Improvements

Even if you’re absolutely sure your audience will want your product, it’s always a good idea to have your contract manufacturer look over your design plans. As mentioned before, an experienced contract manufacturer will know how to make improvements that could end up saving you a lot of time, money, and hassle in the future.

Choose a Partner Over a Provider

The right contract manufacturer will ensure a long-lasting relationship with their clients. This is mutually beneficial for both parties. Select a contract manufacturer that can help your business grow and expand over time.

What You Need to Know Before Launching a New Product

March 15, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies need to launch new products to stay ahead of their competition. While a new product launch is an exciting time for your business, it’s not something you should rush into. Before launching a new product, take the time needed to learn what it takes to make the launch successful.

Research Your Target Audience

Prior to launch, you need to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Market research can help you develop an effective marketing plan. In fact, market research provides the foundation for all other steps in your product launch strategy.

When conducting market research, focus on learning what your target customers want and need and the most convenient distribution channels for your audience. Use the answers you receive to determine the best way to market your product. You might want to figure out which social media outlets your target customers use and whether they are more likely to purchase products based on logic or emotions.

Develop Your Message

Once you understand your target audience, you can develop your product messaging. This should include a solid value proposition. Make sure your messaging highlights the product’s best features and the problems they solve.

Promote Your Product Launch

Well planned and efficient promotion of your product launch ensures the success of your product. Create a product launch promotion strategy that educates your target audience and gets them excited about your product. This might include posting about your product launch on social media or through your company blog. Attending trade shows can also help promote your upcoming launch.

Plan for Post Launch

Your work isn’t finished once you’ve launched your product. You need to make sure you have a plan to maintain momentum and excitement after your launch. This is crucial to success. Your post launch plan should include tactics to keep your target audience engaged. This might include posts on social media, email marketing, and regular blog posts.

If you’re ready to create new products, Means Engineering Inc. can help. We have years of experience providing design, production, and testing of a wide range of products for numerous industries.

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.

Outsourcing Custom Electronics

February 15, 2019 By meiadmin

Custom electronic projects take a lot of special consideration. When outsourcing these projects, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your needs up front. These needs must be communicated with your contract manufacturer to ensure the project’s proper completion. It’s important to consider the following prior to outsourcing.

Volume Requirements

Storing massive amounts of inventory is expensive. In fact, it’s one of the fastest ways to lose money. Outsourcing allows you to create smaller batches of custom electronics. This costs significantly less than producing small batches in house or producing large quantities to store.

Discuss your volume requirements with your contract manufacturer. This lets them know what to expect now and in the future. An experienced CM can provide you with suggestions on the best way to move forward.

Budget

Producing custom electronics takes a lot of space, people, equipment, and technology. In order to produce high quality custom electronics, you’ll need to consider the skills and expertise of your staff. If you feel that you have what it takes to produce these products on budget in-house, then this is probably the best option. However, outsourcing is the better choice if you think you’ll need to acquire more people or equipment to complete the project.

Time

Partnering with an experienced contract manufacturer can reduce the time it takes to complete your project. However, it might also cause delays moving product from one place to the next. It’s important to speak with your contract manufacturer about expected deadlines. Once you have a better understanding about how long the project will take, you need to compare it with the length of time it will take to produce the same custom electronics in-house.

Quality Control

Many small businesses do not put enough thought into quality control. This can cause a major problem, especially if electronic parts or components will be used in dangerous or demanding situations. Working with an ISO certified contract manufacturer helps ensure that products meet strict requirements for quality and reliability. These contract manufacturers have taken all necessary steps to ensure the quality and consistency of every product produced.