Electronics Design
The world is an uncertain place, so it makes sense to be prepared for the unexpected. Having basic management plans (such as Obsolescence Management) in place enables your organisation to deal effectively with a threat to your product, no matter what direction it might come from. As an experienced electronic manufacturing firm, we have seen our share of crises over the years. Drawing on what we’ve learned, we’ve put together a handy checklist that provides essential pointers regarding how best to respond when a crisis looms.
Have your obsolescence management plan alternatives ready
If you’re relying on a limited number of companies to source your obsolescence parts, a glitch in the supply process could cause all sorts of problems. Ensuring you have back up suppliers ready to swing into action if needed is important for your obsolescence plan to work smoothly, no matter what’s happening in the world.
Communicate with your suppliers
The more you’re able to tell your suppliers what demand is likely to be for their parts, the easier it is for them to meet your needs. Similarly, if suppliers suspect there may be a problem with their ability to maintain supply for whatever reason, early warning helps you come up with alternatives. Hetech pro-actively keeps stock levels high, enabling us to cope with fluctuating customer demand smoothly. By communicating regularly, the chances of supply and demand matching are far higher.
Forecast product requirements
The more notice you can give your suppliers of the volume required and the deadlines you’re looking at, the easier it is for them to make sure that your order is ready to go on time. Particularly when you have a long-standing arrangement with a supplier, they will often be able to have your stock set aside months (or even years) before you need it. In the event of a crisis, this can really help.
Support local businesses
Using Australian businesses to meet your needs makes economic and ethical sense. When you use an Australian supplier, you can be confident of receiving high-quality goods that offer excellent value.
Get in touch to find out more about Hetech and what we can offer.
When it comes to developing actual physical products electronics engineers have two options: Proof of Concept and Prototyping. But what is the difference between the two stages and which one is most appropriate for your stage in the design lifecycle?
In this blog, we are going to explore the difference between the two concepts because while they are similar there are key differences between them which you need to understand if your final design is to be successful.
What is Proof of Concept?
When designing and developing new electronics products, it is a good idea to validate your initial ideas with a physical device.
Proof of Concept is an early-stage physical product which is used to test the feasibility and demonstrate the functionality of your design. Proof of Concept devices are usually constructed using off-the-shelf components and development kits to keep costs down and speed up development.
Proof of Concept designs are also useful for forecasting the cost of manufacturing. Often product designers add functionality which is not strictly necessary but significantly adds to the cost of the product. A Proof of Concept can help designers focus on the functionality which is needed and remove everything else.
Finally, Proof of Concept can also be used to create a minimum viable product to showcase your product to investors. Entrepreneurs are more likely to get funding for a new product if they can show a physical device to potential investors.
What is Prototyping?
Prototypes are constructed later in the development cycle, usually, after the schematics and PCB design have been completed. A prototype should be based on the final “real-world” product and allow end-users to carry out extensive field testing of the device.
The prototype stage is one of the most important in the product design lifecycle. Prototypes should be used to uncover any problems which were not predicted during the design and feasibility stage. This ensures all issues are corrected before going into full production greatly increasing reliability out in the field.
Get in touch
If you would like more information about Hetech’s electronics design and prototyping solutions, get in touch with us using the contact form here or give our team a call on +61 (0)7 3297 9700 to discuss your project further.
Electronex 2016 is behind us and a great time was had by all that attended. Below are some pics from the show, including a few from our first networking dinner promoting ‘innovation and collaboration’ within the electronics design and manufacturing industry. The dinner was held in collaboration with our design partners Amatek Design and was complemented by our two guest speakers Cathy Foley, Deputy and Science Director of CSIRO Manufacturing and Medhat Wassef, President of AIDN NSW (Australian Industry and Defence Network).
The Hetech team on the stand (L-R): Managing Director Mark Steiner, Operations Manager Glenn Wright, Production Supervisor Alan Grant and Sales Exec Steve Plunkett
Networking dinner (photo L-R top): Amatek Managing Director Simon Buchwald, Cathy Foley (Deputy and Science Director of CSIRO Manufacturing) and Hetech Managing Director Mark Steiner
Mark Steiner’s presentation during the SMCBA Conference
Our new stand … look out for us next time you’re at Electronex!
THE brisk temperature and winter coats were a novelty for us Queenslanders’ at National Manufacturing Week in Melbourne 2 weeks ago. Nevertheless, we embraced the cold as we had 3 very important missions to complete. Continue…
OF late, the Hetech team have been often questioned… what does the H.E. stand for in HETech? We’ve heard a number of possible guesses about what it could be, so we thought what better time than our 25th year in business than to decrypt these letters and pay homage to our founders Hegge and Edington. Continue…
THE Hetech Team had a fantastic day visiting our TecHome colleagues at the DesignBUILD Expo in Sydney!
In March we welcomed some very special visitors to Hetech HQ! Twenty-six engineering students from Singapore were our guests for the morning as we walked them through facility and processes.
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AS part of the Queensland Government’s Innovation Campaign, the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts recently selected Hetech to take part in a case study highlighting the company’s strengths in innovative design, integrated ‘turnkey’ solutions and electronics manufacturing. Continue…
