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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.

Developing a Mutually Beneficial Relationship With Your Contract Manufacturer

February 8, 2019 By meiadmin

Small businesses and entrepreneurs often seek help when creating electronic products. Many of these companies simply do not have the people, equipment, space, or technology needed to produce new products.

Sometimes, these businesses need assistance creating electronic parts or components. Other times, they are looking to have an entire product produced. Whatever the case, there are a few things that can make the process go more smoothly.

Prepare Your Design Files

If you’ve created design files you’ll need to provide these to your contract manufacturer along with your Bill of Materials (BOM). This helps your contract manufacturer provide an accurate quote. It also ensures that everyone is on the same page right from the start.

If you don’t have design files, that’s alright as well. A contract manufacturer can help turn your ideas into functional products. They often employ teams of experienced individuals, capable of designing a wide range of products for multiple industries. At Means Engineering, we work directly with many of our clients from concept to completion.

Discuss Quantity Expectations

When searching for a contract manufacturer you need to ensure the company you choose is well prepared to handle the quantities you need. Make sure you discuss the number of different assemblies you plan to have produced including how many you’ll need in your first order and future orders.

Plans for Ongoing Production

A quality contract manufacturer acts as your partner. They stay by your side for as long as you need them. Don’t be afraid to talk to your contract manufacturer about your long term plans for production. This sets the foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship. Even if your production needs surpass what your contract manufacturer can handle, they likely have connections with other respectable companies.

At Means Engineering we provide design, production, and testing of a wide range of electronic products and components. We employ a team of experienced professionals and are pleased to pass our knowledge and experience to our valued customers. We strive to provide exceptional customer service, while exceeding customer expectations for quality and reliability.

Turning Ideas Into Functioning Products

February 1, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies today are under a lot of pressure to create high quality electronic products. Modern day consumers expect more features and options than ever before. In order to be successful, companies need to keep up with their competition. This means developing new products at an alarming rate.

It’s not enough to simply have good ideas. You need to be able to turn those ideas into functioning products. Unfortunately, many companies find this difficult.

Once they begin the development process they find themselves in an abyss of complicated regulations and manufacturing challenges. At this point, they probably need some help. Partnering with a qualified contract manufacturer can help these businesses turn their ideas into reality.

Electrical and Mechanical Design

If possible, it’s a good idea to enlist the help of a contract manufacturer during the design process. This helps locate areas of your design that could benefit from improvement. This can significantly reduce the cost of production and improve the quality of the finished product.

A contract manufacturer acts as your partner throughout the design process, providing you with knowledge backed by years of experience. This is perhaps the biggest benefit of working with a contract manufacturer.

Sometimes, small details get missed during the design process. These details could mean the difference between a functioning product and the need to start over. A contract manufacturer provides a second set of eyes for design plans, ensuring nothing gets missed.

Hardware Development

During hardware development, you move from simply talking about your product to creating the BOM, PCB layout, and mechanical parts. It’s important to fully test each component at this stage. This helps locate potential issues before you move into full scale production.

A contract manufacturer can help with testing of a wide range of parts and components.

Documentation

An often overlooked requirement, documentation is important for the maintenance of your design. Depending on the intended use of your finished product you might need a wide range of documentation including product manuals, start-up guides, and maintenance manuals. A contract manufacturer can help you determine the documents required for your specific product.

Procurement

It can be tempting to go with the cheapest option when procuring components. Unfortunately, many of these options are poor quality counterfeits. Using counterfeit components can negatively affect the quality of your finished product. It can also affect your compliance with industry regulations. It’s important to work with someone who understands the importance of using quality components.

Production

At this point, it’s a good idea to hand off your project to an experienced contract manufacturer. Means Engineering has years of experience working with a number of companies across a wide range of industries. We work directly with you throughout all parts of production to ensure high quality, reliable finished products.

How to Make the Most of Your Contract Manufacturing Partnership

January 25, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies everywhere strive to keep costs low. Reducing costs on manufacturing increases profits and allows for better allocation of funds. When looking into ways to cut costs, one of the decisions business owners should consider is whether or not to outsource some or all of their production.

Outsourcing allows organizations to create a wide range of products without having to acquire the space, people, equipment, and technology needed for production. This significantly reduces the amount of money spent on producing new products. In addition to reducing production costs, utilizing the help of a contract manufacturer during the design process helps locate unique ways to further reduce costs and improve quality.

Quality contract manufacturers have years of experience. They have access to the latest equipment and technology. They understand how to leverage best practices to ensure the quality and consistency of every product produced.

There are numerous benefits to working with a contract manufacturer. Perhaps the most important is that it frees up time and resources so that leaders can focus on other important aspects of the business.

Contract Negotiations

Just like every other factor in business, organizations should ensure they get the most out of their contract manufacturing partnership. This begins with contract negotiations. It’s crucial that the organization and the CM agree on mutual terms. The contract should establish certain milestones to allow for adequate monitoring of each project’s progression.

During negotiations, it’s important that the organization understands the limitations of the CM. They should negotiate a solid contract that ensures a mutually profitable relationship.

Establish a Lasting Relationship

Contract manufacturers work with their clients to help them succeed. Organizations should take the time needed to build a mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationship.

Quality Management System

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is that it allows businesses to increase the quality of finished products. This is why it’s so important to work with an experienced contract manufacturer that has a quality management system in place.

Means Engineering is registered to both ISO 9001 and AS 9100. Companies with these certifications must meet strict requirements for quality control. Our team has years of experience working with a wide range of industries. We provide comprehensive solutions including design, production, and testing of products and components.

Importance of Testing New Products

January 4, 2019 By meiadmin

Product testing is important for a number of reasons. Testing allows an organization to ensure the quality of new products before they go to market. It also helps locate areas that could benefit from improvement. Fixing these issues before products hit the shelf helps prevent possible loss of customers and reputation.

Types of Testing

There are several different types of testing including quality assurance, product reliability testing, and lifecycle testing. Testing typically takes place during the manufacturing phases of product development and is often focused on consumer expectations.

Products for certain industries must meet strict requirements such as products created for the medical, defense, and aerospace industries. Components in these devices must meet a much higher standard than those used in other products.

Some products require Premarket Approval (PMA) testing before being passed on to consumers. This is true for medical devices that support or sustain human life. The proper operation and quality of these devices is crucial to the prevention of illness or injury.

Outsourcing

Organizations often attempt to handle product testing in-house. Unfortunately, this can cost a considerable amount of money. In order to maintain a testing lab, organizations must acquire the appropriate space, equipment, labor, and certificates.

Organizations can benefit from outsourcing testing to a qualified contract manufacturer. A contract manufacturer assists with all parts of production, from design to testing.

Qualified Contract Manufacturer

Means Engineering provides contract manufacturing services for organizations across a wide range of industries. We provide assistance with design, production, and testing of products. Our team has years of experience and understands the unique needs of businesses creating products for industries with complex requirements.

We provide all types of testing including quality assurance, product reliability testing, and lifecycle testing. We our AS 9100 and ISO 9001 certified. This helps us ensure the quality and consistency of every product produced.

Means Engineering tests product functionality off the line. We use predetermined factors to determine the level of testing and scores each product receives. When necessary, we test individual parts as well as finished products to ensure optimal operation and functionality.

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