The typical production timeline can be abridged by starting 2G designs during 1G prototyping.
In business, timing is everything. When is the best time for an OEM product or industrial designer to collaborate with their flex manufacturer and assembler? The correct answer should be: “That involvement is an infinite loop that begins during a product’s conception and perpetuates during a product’s evolution.”
In my October column, I focused on how to use flex technology as an enabler to make devices thinner, smaller and lighter. Now, I would like to illustrate an ideal methodology for OEMs to work with the flex manufacturer and assembler to enable technological products that consumers desire.
From my experience, the best flex manufacturers and assemblers provide engineering support early in the product lifecycle, which is typically comprised of six phases:
Concept: When industrial designers determine the desired form factor, features and user experience/interface of their products. This is the architectural stage and flex can play an enabling role.
Design: When product designers complete the electronics and mechanical design to achieve the desired form factor.
Prototype: After the design is complete, the flex manufacturers and assemblers physically create a proof-of-concept product prototype.
Pre-production: Making adjustments to the design to achieve desired performance requirements. The OEM looks to its suppliers to analyze root cause and test when problems are encountered.
Production: Ramping to full production volumes, often very rapidly to match the short marketability of products.
Maturity: End of a product lifespan, when it is ready for next-generation product introduction.
The flex manufacturer and assembler plays an integral role in each of the phases of the product lifecycle. The best flex-product integration is coordinated during the initial stage, which usually results in designs that produce best-in-class devices. It is imperative for any OEM to have early supplier involvement (“ESI”) with its flex manufacturers and assemblers. ESI enables OEM design and supply-chain teams to collaborate with their counterparts during this critical period. ESI provides designers added flexibility with minimal design constraints to maximize 3D packaging solutions. The result is seamless, integrated, flexible – printed circuit assembly solutions that lead to devices that are thinner, smaller and lighter with faster time-to-market.
Despite the best ESI efforts during the NPI stage of prototype and pre-production, engineering changes may be needed to further optimize the design for the desired product performance. In response, flex manufacturers must provide best-in-class program management and streamlined communications to achieve the design that yields the best product. After the design is optimized, the flex manufacturer must have the ability to quickly ramp to volume production, as well as support demand flexibility.
Through the maturity phase of the product lifecycle, the OEM design and supply chain teams would benefit from collaboration with the flex manufacturers to repeat the ESI and NPI phase for subsequent generations of product conception. We call this the “Infinite Loop of Involvement,” and it offers the flexibility to begin the ESI and NPI phase for the subsequent generation of product conception, as soon as the prototype phase of first-generation product is complete.
‘It’s never too early.’ When it comes to involving flex manufacturers and assemblers, one can never get engaged too early. In my experience, the most impressive packaging solutions have come from industrial, product and flex designers co-designing during product conception. That is the necessity of ESI. It is beneficial to proactively think how to use flex to help design thinner, lighter, and smaller products, instead of using flex as an afterthought for a potential fix. Typically, it takes 6 to 9 months to get to production volumes, but with this methodology, OEMs can shorten the process and bring products to market sooner.
It is not enough to just start early. A flex manufacturer should be involved in every phase of a new product’s lifecycle. There must be a culture of collaboration and unison between the OEM design team, the OEM supply chain, and the flex manufacturer and assembler. Once OEMs go through this process and move to a newer product, the loop begins anew. This perpetual cooperation leads to even more advanced, compact and cost-efficient products, and that is a tremendous plus for everyone.
Jay Desai is director of marketing at MFLEX (mflex.com); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
