Do you have an idea for an electronic product, the next must-have gadget, music or video system, time saver, or most problem-solving gadget that was ever invented? Even if you have the electronics stock fabricate expertise available, there are a whole of tasks that you must complete and issues that you must resolve before you have an actual stock fabricate that can be produced, marketed, and sold. Once you have completed a stock specification document and a marketing study, you should be prepared to have the stock electronics and packaging fabricate processes begun so that a prototype unit can be assembled and tested.
One of the first choices that must be made in the electronics fabricate is which microprocessor or microcontroller architecture will be utilized if your stock idea requires processing capability. Most microprocessor or microcontroller devices are available in a variety of configurations of internal memory sizes with some along with non-volatile Flash memory for program storage, quantity and types of input and output pins, package types for surface mount or through-hole applications, clock speeds, and interfaces that are supported by the processor without having to add further devices.
Once a microprocessor or microcontroller house is selected, further decisions must be made on which system clock frequency to use, how much processor and system memory will be required for the application, and how the software improvement processes are to be supported. The choice of processor architecture must consider the available software improvement and testing tools and the software fabricate resources that will be required for your product's software/firmware design. further decisions must be made on how the software/firmware will be loaded into the processor's memory while the manufacturing process. Will the fabricate allow the accomplished stock to accept field or user initiated software/firmware upgrades, or will the stock be a one-time programmable unit?
Before the processor quantum of the fabricate is completed, you must also define which types of interfaces to external systems will be required (serial port, parallel port, Usb, Ethernet, wireless association such as 802.11x or Bluetooth, infrared, etc.) and the minimum interface bandwidth rates required. All of these factors will play a role in selecting the best processor stock to use in your fabricate application. Some microprocessor/microcontroller stock examples that you can investigate are the MicroChip Pal series and the house of products from Atmel as both of these suppliers provide some very qualified but low cost processor solutions.
Electronic components, along with microprocessors and microcontrollers, are typically available in both surface mount and through-hole versions. Some electronic components may be available in only one format (such as some transformers, relays, capacitors, power resistors, or connectors being available only in through-hole packages). surface mount components are adored for any volume level output as they are commonly less costly to purchase, more facilely available, and allow for more covenant printed circuit board designs as the components take up much less space and can be applied to both sides of the board if necessary. Using surface mount technology may allow the printed circuit board fabricate to use a smaller size and/or fewer layers, thus reducing raw board costs. However, surface mount components can make in-house assembly and soldering difficult if not impossible if you do not have the proper equipment and expertise.
The completed fabricate will comprise a power provide section that will provide the voltage and current levels required by the design's components. Input power options could comprise plugging the unit into a 120 Vac outlet and converting the Ac voltage to the appropriate regulated Dc voltage levels internally as part of the power provide design. You could also choose to use an external power adapter that converts 120 Vac to a Dc voltage level and then regulates this incoming Dc voltage level to the level required by the design. A third choice would be to have the stock powered by batteries. If your stock is to be battery powered, in increasing to defining the battery technology and the whole of amp hours of power storehouse in the batteries, you should also consider if a rechargeable battery fabricate or an end user replaceable battery fabricate is best for the stock application and pricing.
Once the electronics fabricate and the printed circuit board fabricate are completed, the mechanical packaging and external enclosure designs can be finalized and the initial software improvement can be completed. Now it is time to have a prototype unit assembled and tested and decisions must be made with regard to the manufacturing of the initial prototype units. Choices comprise ordering all of the components and assembling the prototype stock in-house if you have the assembly expertise, subcontracting the prototyping process to a domestic covenant electronics manufacturing company, or subcontracting the prototyping process to a covenant electronics manufacturing enterprise placed off shore. If you do not have the expertise or equipment to properly assemble the prototype units, you should prepare a list of companies who can retain your prototyping and output needs and begin the process of identifying your best options.
In increasing to identifying who will assemble the prototype units, you should also be identifying which choice you will use for manufacturing the output units. Choices comprise manufacturing the units yourself, contracting the assembly of the units externally with a domestic, or contracting the assembly of the units with an off shore electronics manufacturing service provider. If you plan to use an external manufacturing source, consider that some companies specialize in low volume specialty assemblies, such as prototype units or initial production, but are not able to cost effectively retain high volume output levels due to capacity limitations. Other companies are in the opposite spectrum and specialize only in high volume levels. The quantity of units that would be high volume output from your point of view may not be large enough to elicit any interest a strictly high volume manufacturer. You should also consider delivery times from receipt of your purchase order as a factor in selecting an surface assembly source.
Another prominent factor to consider in this process of evaluating electronics manufacturing service providers would be the fabricate assistance that they may be able to provide throughout the process of developing the product. Services such as electronics fabricate and printed circuit board layout design, component choice and procurement process with assistance in multi-sourcing components, enclosure design, mechanical packaging design, and providing output capability from prototyping to low volume to high volume could all be of massive help to you. In addition, a covenant electronics maker may also provide suggestions to enhance the manufacturability, lower component costs, and enhance the product's reliability. Be sure to have an appropriate Non-Disclosure trade in place with any and all parties that are involved in this process to safe your intellectual property.
You must also define how will the man-made stock is to be tested and packaged. Once the stock has been prototyped and tested successfully, it is prominent to resolve the quantity of units to be man-made for the initial output run and for volume manufacturing levels. You must also understand how many levels of distribution the stock go through (with each level taking a cut of the margins) before it gets in front of a consumer to purchase.
If you are an creator or have a great electronic stock idea, I don't want to discourage you, but you must consider all of these activities and their related costs before you commit to the thousands of dollars of expenses required for designing and prototyping your stock idea. For instance, you should be prepared at a minimum to whether achieve yourself or to subcontract the completion of the following tasks:
- stock idea investigate (are there any existing products or patents already existing for this idea)
- stock specification document preparing (what it will do, how it will look, how will it be powered, and how the user will interface with it)
- Marketing study (what it will be named, who would buy this, how much would they pay, how will we get customers to purchase the product)
- Schematic or electronic circuit fabricate process
- Creation of a bill of material or Bom and an beloved vendor's list or Avl for each component in the design, preferably with multiple sources identified, with a Bom and Avl for each assembly level in the product
- Printed circuit board layout fabricate process (single sided board, double sided board, or multilayer board; size of the pcb; board material)
- Mechanical packaging fabricate with user interfaces (displays, buttons, switches, keys, interconnects, power supply, etc.); determining if the stock assembly require sealing, internal conformal coating, or potting to safe against moisture
- Software/firmware improvement process and software tools required
- Prototype component procurement, prototype assembly and related setup costs, and testing with software/firmware
- There may also be some Ul and/or Fcc regulatory compliance testing required depending upon your stock application (such as Fcc Part 15 and Ul standards that may apply to the stock category)
- Revisions to the designs as primary based on initial testing results with maybe further rounds of prototyping being required
- Any required changes from the prototype assembly and testing processes must be incorporated prior to the first output run. This may require changes to the schematic and printed board designs, changes to the mechanical packaging, changes to the software/firmware, or cosmetic changes to the enclosure packaging.
Prototyping Your New Electronic stock IdeaHeating and Cooling Services Ingersoll Rand Air Compressor Troubleshooting