PCB Tech - PCBA replacement parts import is always in a vicious circle?

"Second source (PCBA replacement parts) import" mostly means that a part must have more than two PCB suppliers, and the purpose of importing second source is nothing more than to solve the shortage of materials, reduce material costs, increase negotiation bargaining chips, and replace discomfort. Serving as a supplier, optimizing product quality... etc.

However, according to Shenzhen Honglijie’s understanding, the work of importing "PCBA replacement parts" seems to be a difficult and thankless task in most companies, because this work is usually urgent and time-sensitive. However, An carelessness may cause product quality problems and cause heavy losses to the company, but the big bosses don’t pay much attention to what these engineers are doing. It should be said that the big bosses only see price reductions, and they choose to ignore quality. Besides, all the credit for the price reduction seems to have been taken away by the procurement department. The engineers have done a lot of work to test this and that, no one cares about the situation, only when there will be results, so "doing well should be (no performance). "If you don't do it well," it becomes a pain for the team responsible for "PCBA replacement parts".

After staying in PCBA electronics assembly factory for a long time, you will find that some important parts have a very long delivery time, especially for Japanese parts manufacturers who look at each board, and their lead-time and prices are very hard, such as ceramic capacitors. (MLCC) and connector (Connector) lead time ranges from 40 to 80 days, but as soon as you switch to Taiwanese or mainland merchants, the lead time and price will drop immediately, but the quality will also drop. resignedly!

In commercial business, if I am the exclusive supplier of the part, it usually means that I can only make this part, or that my ability is better than others and the products made are better than others. Of course, the selling price is up to me. But once there are other suppliers that can make parts of the same specifications, with competitors, the price will be forced to lower, otherwise the order will be missed.

In addition, the use of "substitute materials" for some parts is something that has to be done, especially for products with a relatively long life. It often happens that the parts supplier has to end-of-life a certain part, such as the power management IC (PMIC). ), memory IC (DDR), oscillator (Crystal), etc., and there are no parts with the same specifications, or the specifications are the same but the packaging of the parts is inconsistent with the original. At this time, you have to look for parts from other parts suppliers., Or change the design to meet the new part specifications.

So, do you say "alternative material import" should be done? When?

"Introduction of substitute materials" is an inevitable evil of production, and of course it should be done, only how to do it is the key point. In addition, the best time for "alternative material introduction" should be the last trial production of the new product before mass production, because the PCB products at this time are almost in the mature stage, and in principle, there will be no major changes in the design. .

Substitute material (Second Source) parts can obtain the same verification conditions as the main parts (Primary Source), and the comparison will not cause huge differences.

It is the most time-saving and labor-saving to verify the substitute materials at the R&D stage. Otherwise, the people who will take over may not know the problems encountered during the R&D or the key points that need attention.

In addition, the audit of alternative material suppliers is also a science, because if a supplier with quality control problems is selected, not only the benefits of alternative materials will not be obtained, but it may also cause product quality problems, and even affect the export. Goods, let's talk about this again in the future. In addition to reviewing quality, suppliers must also evaluate their technical capabilities. In the case of circuit boards (PCB), those suppliers can achieve fine pitch (3mil/3mil, 2mil/2mil), how many layers can be made, and HDI (High Density Interconnect) capabilities, etc. should be clearly recorded.

Of course, even if most of the substitute materials have been prepared in the new product stage, there will still be fish that slip through the net, and sometimes it is difficult to say exactly when the manufacturer will finally produce a certain part, so subsequent substitute materials are required It will still appear from time to time, unless the PCB factory's products are also finalized.