Obsolescence

GDCA: Pioneers in Proactive Obsolescence Management

March 13, 2018

GDCA’s unique approach to manufacturing is driving the future of the Legacy electronics industry. We work together with our OEM partners to provide our customers with proactive obsolescence management and remanufacturing for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products. Scrambling for parts should not come as a surprise in the life span of your machine and should be planned…

Robbing from Your Future to Service Your Past

March 10, 2018

A Holistic Approach to Obsolescence with GDCA by Amelia Dalton The design cycle drum beats on. Your research and development team have been stressed for months. The constant push for “the next big thing” keeps you up at night. We’ve all been there. In this episode of Fish Fry, we look at how the ever-growing…

Embedded World 2017

March 27, 2017

Embedded World 2017 was a blast! After 2 weeks on the road of sub-zero temperatures in DC, Boston, Ottawa, and Montreal it was great to see spring for the first time in 2017 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg! German beer is best consumed in the sunshine!) At the fair, all the OEMs I spoke with were jam packed with…

5 Ways to Protect Product Longevity

March 13, 2017

Plan sustainment early Budget for sustainment Identify your high-risk/critical components Manage the big picture Strategically plan your design refresh Innovation is known for making products better, faster, and smarter. When it comes to technology, that also means smaller and more compact. In an ideal world, innovation moves society and culture forward, saving lives and bringing…

Get your boards…while you still can.

April 10, 2016

Have you ever requested additional post-EOL LTBs from your board OEM, only to find you need more boards later on? Board OEMs care about their customers. If these OEMs could continue to provide the quality products their customers have come to depend on, most would. For the majority of customers, upgrades are a welcome and…

Innovating Obsolescence: When the Supply Chain Is Around Your Throat

February 26, 2015

Obsolescence can pose a grave threat to individuals, economies, and nations. Security and defense receive a great deal of attention in our Critical Thoughts section, partly because they are domains in which obsolescence is highly visible and easily conceived. In fact, the defense industry has its own acronym, that specifically outlines the necessary steps to…

Sensors Going Blind: Obsolete Medical Scanners in the Developing World

August 20, 2014

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night with chest pains. You can’t call 911 because you live in a region without telephone service. There are few emergency services available and, even so, there are few functional roads. The pains pass, but you know you need to have it looked at. You begin the…

Microgrid Death Spiral: The Argument Over “Obsolete” Power Infrastructure

May 7, 2014

In January of 2013, the Edison Electric Institute released a report titled “Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business”, which outlined a variety of challenges traditional power utilities will face in the upcoming years. The current power infrastructure in the United States wasn’t constructed with end-user power generation in…

Counterfeit Components Hurt More Than Military Applications

April 23, 2014

When reading the news around counterfeit components, much of the dialogue is driven by the defense industry. When you are dealing with systems that protect our national security and the lives of the people out in the field – you’re not dealing with counterfeits in a bunch of trivial electronics. You’re taking necessary steps to…