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April 2010

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Subject:
From:
Werner Engelmaier <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>, Werner Engelmaier <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:51:29 -0400
Content-Type:
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 Peter, Greg & All,
It is precisely for these reasons that I developed the White Paper "Recommendationsfor PCB FAB Notes and Specifications in Printed Circuit Board Drawings for SnPband Lead-Free Soldering Assemblies, the Qualification of PCB Shops andActivities to Assure Continued Quality."  
 The OEMs no longer have any in-house expertise precisely at the time the need it the most because of the demands of Pb-free assembly. When sh.. hits the fan, as it invariably will, they blame the Fab house the assembly house or both, when it is inadequately spec'ed PCBs made according to an inadequate specification, against which the FAB houses bid, that is the root cause of the problems.
Werner

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Gregg Owens <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tue, Apr 13, 2010 12:00 pm
Subject: Re: [TN] Contract PCB Design Services T&C


Pete:

Your "rant" could easily be extended to every area of PCBA manufacturing. The 
rise of PCBA assemblies houses in the 1980s are examples of how management has 
tried to save upfront costs only to pay more in the end with longer lead times. 
This is not to say assembly houses are "bad" but it transferred the electronics 
manufacturing process away from the very people who would be installing and 
using the PCBAs - the end users. This business model has created lots more 
finger pointing between end users and the board and assembly houses because the 
end users no longer retain the experience necessary to clearly determine whether 
the root cause of a problem is design or process related. Then this century 
throw in lead-free and you end up with lots of folks working very hard in this 
industry but with all too great ignorance of the materials and processes they 
are using, all the while trying to keep quarterly profits in a positive 
position. I will now get off my soap box. 

Gregg Owens
Technical Writer - Avionics
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
(310) 363-6533


-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pete Houwen
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 7:19 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] Contract PCB Design Services T&C

Bob, I'm in a rather similar situation.  A company of 3000+, R&D locations on 3 
continents and 2 islands.  I am the sole remaining PCB designer.

To answer your questions first:

1.  We have a set of company specific design standards, mostly to make sure 
the data we receive is compatible with MRP and CAM standards, and it makes 
it easier for me to pick up the "finished" job and, well, finish it.  But we 
don't 
keep a standard agreement, as the services we require change based on the 
design.

2. If a company can not deliver what we have asked for, either during or at 
the end, they don't get paid.  In a situation such as yours, a mutual 
agreement to terminate the effort, we would pay them for the part of the 
work we can use, whatever did meet parts of the agreement.  This has 
happened before.

now the rant:

We laid off all the designers but me.  We send the work to China, using 
engineers with no PCB experience whatsoever, to do design and 
documentation.  Their cost is 1/3 of ours.  It takes them 3x as long to deliver 
a design.  Between the time I spend getting them started and correcting 
after, I spend 1.5x what it would take to do the design myself.  To Sr. 
management, this is cost savings.  Lately, we have been contacting one of 
the designers we laid off.  We pay him almost what it cost when he was 
employed here.  And again, add in my time, so we're about even now.  That 
works well, except that he has another full time job, so turn time is longer.   
And since I am stretched so thin, there have been errors - costly errors, and 
reduced manufacturability.  

Here's hoping the new "Undercover Boss" TV series starts opening some eyes.

Pete

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