Electronic Product Manufacturing
The electronics industry is constantly evolving, as is the complexity of the new electronic products. As such, the electronic product manufacturing processes have to evolve as well to enable the building of next-gen products which are smaller, faster, more intelligent, and cheaper.
Two main ways of staying ahead of the competition are reducing the risk of failure of the product in the market and shortening the time-to-market. These two goals can be achieved by:
Adopting ‘Design for Manufacturing and Assembly’ (DFMA)
The DFMA or Design For Manufacturing and Assembly methodology is essentially a set of rules which enables manufacturers to design and create a product more quickly, efficiently, cost-effectively, and easily.
By adopting DFMA right from the beginning, the twin goals of creating a quality product and taking it to the market early can be accomplished.
This is mainly due to the following benefits of DFMA:
- Reduction in the number of parts used
- Reduction in operation and inventory costs
- Reduction in number of defects
- Reduction in overproduction and extra processing
- Reduction in waiting period of material and labour force
Using Hi-Tech Rapid Prototyping
One of the most popular and useful ways of creating a high-quality product and reducing the time-to-market is Rapid Prototyping. In this, a fast and accurate working model of the actual product is created for early concept demonstration and feature and specification evaluation before even any mould is made or final PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is assembled in the pre-production stage.
By using Rapid Prototyping during the initial stages of electronic product manufacturing, a lot of improvement can be made in a short amount of time before the mass production begins.
Rapid prototyping has proven itself to be a great way of testing complex design ideas, and should be an integral part of every electronic product manufacturing process.
Integrating Testing into PCB and System Assembly
The PCB, designing as well as prototyping processes, should always be accompanied by an integrated testing plan, which is at the heart of electronic product manufacturing.
During manufacturing and assembly, it is important to ensure thorough product testing is done before the mass manufacturing is given a go-ahead. This step of testing will ensure high quality and correct functionality of the product when it hits the market.
Certain manufacturers are tempted to cut down on testing or skip it altogether so as to launch the product as early as possible; however, this increases the risk of failure and therefore is best avoided.
Providing Complete Fulfillment and Support Service for electronic product manufacturing
A complete Electronic product manufacturing service is not limited to only manufacturing and assembly but also includes the post-sale services.
In a time when the market is full of equally good new products, what will help one company differentiate from the other is how good their “after sales support” to the customers is. And hence, packaging of the product, shipping and delivery, and after-sales support (both during and after the warranty period), must be up to the mark as well.
Electronic product manufacturing may be complex, but staying ahead of the competition is possible if best practices like those listed above are followed diligently.
