Successfully Launching New Electronic Assemblies into Production

Brian Leach, VP of Sales and Marketing, Accuspec Electronics, LLC. Erie, Pennsylvania

New electronic products need to go through a New Product Introduction (NPI) process to be successfully launched into the market. New products need to be available in a compressed timeframe and meet necessary cost targets. The purpose of this article is to provide helpful tools, checklists and discussion points for both the product developer and the supplier of electronic assemblies. Share your goals! The rst step is to communicate goals to the supply chain relating to when the new product is desired. Do not be afraid to engage the supply chain! Bring the supply chain in to help. Projects are often worked on in a vacuum and then dropped on the suppliers by surprise. This leads to delay in the schedule, expedite fees and increased errors. An NPI Program Management worksheet\Prototype Request form is a great tool to initiate the process.

Engage Supply Chain

Parallel Process Successful product launches have multiple tasks taking place in parallel. As the design is going through development, inventory pipelining needs to take place. While raw material is on order, process ready activities such as ordering tooling should be completed. All team members on both teams (Customer and Supplier) need to perform critical tasks in conjunction with each other. An NPI system is invaluable in order to keep everyone on track with their checklist and to provide a common point of communication. There are key tasks which fall into Buckets of activities. For example, material planning has a bucket, order entry has a bucket, process ready has a bucket and so on. The system shows who is on track with their action items (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: NPI System automatically sends out key Tasks which drives parallel processing and shortens the time to develop a new product.

Involve suppliers in the design

Design For Manufacturing (DFM) Bullets Once a design is released to production, it is costly to re-design it. Suppliers should be allowed to review the design and provide input to lower the cost or improve the delivery. Several aspects of the design will need to be reviewed: bill of material, bare board, assembly level drawing, and components. For a concise, bulletized list of DFM guidelines, request a free copy of our DFM Bullets through our website or via email request to sales@accu-ems.com 10 DFM Issues:
Missing or invalid manufacturer part numbers Fit, form and function allowance on passives Manual steps designed in Panelization on PCB Clearance Land patterns Design for testability Vias RoHS. RoHS BGAs Newer technologies such as QFNs, and 0201s

Request DFM Bullet List now!

Bill of Material (BOM) The bill of material, even in rough form should be supplied to the Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) provider, and in turn supplied to distribution as early as possible. Lead time, cost drivers, invalid part numbers, and obsolete part numbers should all be discovered during this review. One technique that can be used to start pipelining is to receive a long lead purchase order (P.O.) and load a long lead or partial BOM. This ensures the ERP system is controlling the accuracy of the part number and that it is being ordered and received correctly. Once the design in nished, the balance of the BOM can be loaded and ordered.

Order long lead time items early

Cost Reduction Identify the cost drivers in the new product and involve each one of the suppliers of this component. The top cost drivers and top lead time items should be managed carefully. Alternates for each should be explored to allow competitive pricing between options and drive for a lowest cost end product for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Component selection can be a signicant cost driver, not only for the cost of the raw component but for the labor to install it as well. Fit, Form, and Function (FFF) Allowance and Approved Vendors List (AVL) Many common parts are already managed by EMS providers. Common parts are even placed on Auto-MRP which allows electronic data interchange with the supply chain. New designs should take full advantage of these parts for multiple reasons: a) They will be on full tape and reel b) They will be at the highest volume, and therefore lowest cost c) New part numbers will not have to be added to the system and managed d) Excess inventory is reduced e) Lead time is not a problem because parts are already in stock Many new designs have part numbers that are not the best option from a cost or lead time standpoint. To achieve the lowest cost of your new product you will need to allow the EMS provider to optimize their system of managing inventory. A list of inventory can be supplied during the design phase to allow design engineers to choose right from the EMS providers inventory. The EMS provider can also manage the design process. CIS Database This is a Component Information System that can be networked to design software. During schematic capture an automated link to the CIS database will provide all the information needed on lead time, manufacturer part numbers, package information, RoHS, and quantity on hand. Bare Board Gerber Files The bare board les should be passed through a design review at the EMS provider and at the bare board fabricator so ways to optimize for lowest cost can be suggested. Notes, tolerances, material list, drill sizes, etc. should all be carefully reviewed with the supply chain.

Assembly Labor The method of assembly will need to be determined and ways to reduce assembly labor can be suggested. What if estimating can also be provided to give design departments objective information to base design decisions on. Gates to Releasing Design Many companies use a Tollgate Process which requires proper review at key steps in the design process. Long mandatory review meetings are not necessary and the required review can be accomplished in the form of emailing les (Gerbers and BOM) and letting the supplier review and reply within a 2 - 4 day time period. Review meetings may be helpful at times to layout the drawings and be able to discuss areas that are driving high cost or potential reliability problems. Standard gates are as follows: Rough BOM and Gerber review, designs released for prototype, post prototype, post pilot run, and pre-production release of les.

Send CAD data at least one week in advance of prototype start date

Documentation Forms and checklists allow for the communication of critical information. A request for prototype form denes the assembly number, assembly name, project, revisions and the timeline. An NPI checklist reminds each team members of the necessary items to prepare. Many OEM companies need a First Article approval form to be submitted with each new prototype or rst time build. File formats such as CAD data, BOM in excel format, gerber les, drawings in Dxf format or in a PDF le will speed the entire process. Specications A tremendous amount of documentation clean up and clarication is needed on all new NPIs. Notes on drawings, missing specications, invalid part numbers, and over-specifying are all examples of common issues that delay an NPI. It is very important to have all of this reviewed by the manufacturers before there is an urgent need for the prototype. Process specications need to be communicated up-front. Parts need to be veried to determine if they are RoHS, heat sensitive, unsealed devices, or need special handling instructions. NPI Leader is dened. The leader makes sure every task is completed on time. Team Like any good success story, the people involved performing critical tasks at the right time will truly make the difference. Key resources are needed for: quoting, BOM scrubbing, loading BOMs, buying parts, buying boards, double checking part numbers upon receipt, designing stencils, programming machines, proling ovens, programming test equipment, and the list goes on. A dedicated NPI team with an engineering project leader helps to coordinate and overcome all the technical hurdles. Experienced individuals make the difference. NPI kick off meetings, preproduction review with the shop oor, and post production meetings allow proper preparation as well as allow lessons learned to have countermeasure plans in place prior to the next work order.

Excess Inventory Excitement of a new product comes with high expectations and optimism that the product will sell in the market at great volumes. A careful eye must be kept on avoiding the excess inventory. Designs typically change and parts are removed from the bill of material. Machine placing of small electronic components requires the raw material to be on a tape and reel format. Tape and reel is available with minimum buy quantities of 4000 per reel for example. This may lead to excess inventory if the build requirement falls short of consuming the 4000 pieces. Excess inventory will be commonly listed on the quote letter and needs a line item on the purchase order to cover it. Use of family codes at the EMS provider allow excess inventory to be determined by customer or can be used to track inventory on a specic project.

Will parts be supplied on Tape and Reel or need to be hand placed?

Supply Chain Management One of the most challenging and enjoyable parts of an NPI is the materials management aspect. Lead times for most electronics can range from 1 week to 26 weeks. On one hand, raw material will need to be available to build product so it should be ordered early. On the other hand, the design is not nished so how can you order inventory when it can very well be removed from the design? Identify the top lead time drivers and cost drivers and manage those items carefully. Once a long lead time item is rmly part of the design, a small quantity should be ordered.

Revision Control Bills of material should have assembly name, assembly number, engineer name and phone number and a clear indication of the revision of the BOM. Typical Launch Schedule: Proto 1 (Alpha) Rev 01 Proto 2 (Beta) Rev 02 Proto 3 (Pilot) Rev 03 First release. Rev 2 piece hand build or machine build quick turn prototype 5 - 10 piece machine build quick turn proto-type 10, 25 or 100 piece machine build pilot build 100, 200 1000 piece machine build production run

Revisions of released product often change to Rev A, Rev B upon each ECO. The EMS provider must be notied of all Engineering Change Orders (ECO) so they can stay up-to-date with BOM and part procurement. Changes should be communicated as early as possible. Electronic assemblies have so many opportunities for error in the design and development process that the above suggested quantities will conrm the design is set before getting into production volumes. Kit Guidelines On rst time prototype builds, raw material may be provided by the EMS provider or supplied (consigned) by the OEM customer. It is very important to provide the components in the proper packaging. The package must have Electro Static Dissipation (ESD) protection and Moisture Sensitive Device (MSD) protection. Packaging should allow for automated placement by the surface mount machines, 2-5% overages are required to allow for machine setup and attrition. See Kit Guidelines. Fabricated Parts Other fabricated parts may be included in the new product launch. Metal work, plastic housings, overlays, special hardware and special labeling all have to be managed in parallel to the electronic assembly. Tooling is often ordered 6-8 weeks in advance and can be very costly. Power supplies, batteries, cords and wire harnesses are all specialty items that will need to be managed carefully as well. Kit Guidelines
Provide full Tape and Reel or a minimum of 300 piece continuous strip. 10 inches of empty pockets (see below) with cover tape.

Ship complete kit vs. multiple kits. Max of 3 shipments. Individual line items must be shipped complete. Packing list must be included with p/n and qty 2 - 5% overage Each reel, tube or bag must be labeled Individual line items shall be supplied in same packaging format

Scheduling Purchase orders (P.O.) drive the schedule within an EMS provider. It is important to notify the EMS provider of a Target prototype run date. This may be based on the last part receipt date or the bare board receipt date. The job will not be scheduled, until an actual P.O. is placed and the entire inventory has arrived. To avoid delay in a prototype, it is good to get the P.O. in the system. The due date and quantity can always be changed upon mutual agreement between the buyer and seller. P.O. also stands for Pressures On! at the EMS provider. Once a P.O. is received, activities start to take place immediately. Without the P.O. full resources can not be put on the job. This reiterates why all the work upfront in parallel with the design process is important. New Products are frequently delayed due to missing documentation or waiting on information from the customer. Approval on alternates is the number one item that causes delay. NPI Checklist (Customer)
Workmanship class (IPC-610) AVL provided Polarity dened Label requirements Packaging format (T&R, strips) Programmed IC le Sample provided Cleaning requirements Do not populate list If kitted: last part receipt date and PCB due date

Forms (tools) available upon request:

A) NPI Program Management\Prototype Request Form B) Kit Requirements and Guidelines C) DFM Guidelines DFM Bullets D) DFM Feedback Form E) Request for Quotation form F) NPI Checklist

Contact: Accuspec Electronics, LLC Phone: 814-464-2000 Email: sales@accu-ems.com www.accuspecelectronic.com